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 defining shot of American independent cinema, shot in black and white on a shoestring budget by Kevin Smith, who financed it partly through comic book sales and credit cards. Distributed by Miramax after a strong showing at Sundance, it became a cultural touchstone for slacker comedy, convenience store philosophy, and dialogue driven filmmaking that influenced a generation of independent directors. Its low budget origins and unlikely success story remain part of its enduring appeal.
This cell preserves the opening card that announces the film itself, the frame where audiences first meet the name Clerks before Dante and Randal ever appear on screen. Collectors seek this kind of card because it represents the threshold moment of a film's identity, the text based announcement that precedes character and plot. For a movie whose reputation rests on its scrappy, homemade beginnings, this piece stands as the literal first impression the audience received, a plain declaration that carries outsized weight given what the film became.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm positive optical-track print of Clerks (1994).
Gauge
35mm, 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.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track waveform.
Edge print
Edge print reads (mirrored): 'KU 18 2449 5707+32' with additional bar and dot symbols visible.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-green tint in the clear areas; the dye image reads as a positive with saturated, neutral-balanced colour.
Projection history
Several fine longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same title-card shot, consecutive frames of one held title sequence, consistent with the animated series title card associated with Clerks.
Era check
A single variable-area optical track, Kodak KU-series edge coding, and cyan-base colour stock are all consistent with a 1990s release or broadcast print.
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 000063077
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
