Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
The Punisher arrived in 2004 through Lionsgate, adapting Marvel's grim vigilante for an era when comic book films still leaned toward hard-edged crime thrillers rather than spectacle. Thomas Jane starred as Frank Castle, a former military man turned one-man justice machine after his family's murder. The film found its audience through cable rotation and genre loyalty more than box office triumph, becoming a cult favorite for fans who preferred their antiheroes bleak and unglamorous.
This cell, marked Frank Castle - Armed, captures the character in his defining state: a man perpetually equipped for violence, the skull-emblazoned soldier turned executioner. Collectors seek Castle material because he represents Marvel's darkest mainstream figure, a vigilante without powers, only weapons and resolve. A cell showing him armed speaks to the film's core identity, its refusal to soften the character into a typical hero. Whether drawn from trailer material or theatrical footage, this piece anchors itself in Castle's essential purpose, preparation for war against those who wronged him.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of The Punisher (2004).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a secondary Dolby Digital data-block region in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight warm-amber tint on the reverse side; the dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a live-action theatrical release matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a colour positive print, variable-area optical track with apparent Dolby Digital data blocks, and warm-amber polyester base is consistent with a mid-2000s theatrical release print, matching the 2004 release 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 000064384
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
