National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2019
“A hilarious, in-your-face, bawdy-yet-provocative look at two sardonic young slackers (Dante and Randal). One toils as a New Jersey convenience store clerk while his alter-ego video store friend works when the mood strikes him.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
Kevin Smith
Studio
Miramax · View Askew Productions · 92 min
Box office
$3.2M worldwide on a $28K budget
Honors
Sundance Filmmaker Trophy Dramatic — 1 winAll 1 wins · 0 nominations on record
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Clerks arrived in 1994 as a black-and-white independent feature shot on a shoestring budget in a New Jersey convenience store, released through Miramax after a strong reception at Sundance. Written and directed by Kevin Smith, it helped define a wave of scrappy, dialogue-driven American independent cinema and introduced the View Askewniverse that would recur across his later films. Its low-fi production and observational humor about retail life and young adulthood made it a touchstone for a generation of filmmakers and audiences alike.
This cell centers on Dante Hicks and Veronica Loughran, the film's central couple whose relationship anchors the story amid the chaos of a single workday. Dante, the reluctant clerk, and Veronica, his girlfriend, represent the emotional throughline running beneath the film's comedic surface. Collectors seek this pairing for its role in establishing the human stakes of Smith's debut, a reminder that beneath the banter lies a story about commitment, doubt, and everyday relationships.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm black-and-white optical-sound release print of Clerks (1994).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or deformation.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the bottom edge beside the perforations, appearing as two wavy white lines consistent with a dual bilateral or stereo variable-area format; Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations are not clearly distinguishable at this size; no DTS timecode line or SDDS outer-edge tracks are visible.
Edge print
Top edge reads, as printed on the strip: 'KV 18 2449 5714' with a dot; text appears mirrored in the capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-teal tint along the edges typical of a processed acetate or polyester release print; the silver dye image reads as neutral black-and-white with no visible colour shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks, or heavy scratching are apparent; faint longitudinal lines are present on the lower edge area, consistent with projection contact.
Picture
Positive black-and-white image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Clerks (1994).
Era check
The dual variable-area optical soundtrack, black-and-white silver image, and edge key-number format are all consistent with a mid-1990s 35mm theatrical release print, matching the 1994 production date of the film on record.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000063075
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
