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, low budget landmark shot mostly overnight in the very convenience store where Kevin Smith worked. Picked up by Miramax after a stir at Sundance, it became a touchstone of American independent cinema, proving that sharp dialogue and a fixed location could outmuscle spectacle. Its success helped define the View Askewniverse and launched Smith's career, cementing the film's place in nineties indie lore alongside other Sundance breakouts of the era.
This cell preserves the opening card, the frame that greets viewers before Dante and Randal ever appear behind the counter. As the first image projected, it carries the weight of introduction, the moment a low budget comedy announces itself as something distinct. Collectors prize title cards for that threshold quality, the instant before narrative begins, tied directly to the film's identity rather than any single scene or performance. For a movie built on minimalism, this card stands as its purest artifact.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour 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; punching appears clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
Not visible in this capture; the area beside the picture frames is obscured by the dark surround and no track detail can be resolved.
Edge print
Partial text visible at upper left reading 'K' followed by characters that are cut off; full key number sequence is not legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight cool-neutral tint; the dye image reads as a positive colour image with saturated primaries showing no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
A vertical bright streak is visible crossing the rightmost frame, consistent with a base-side scratch or abrasion on a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to show the same title-card composition, consistent with a title sequence frame from Clerks (1994).
Era check
A colour positive 35mm print with this perforation layout and clear safety base is consistent with a mid-1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1994 production date 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 000063084
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
