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 as Lionsgate's attempt to revive the Marvel vigilante for a post-Blade action landscape, with Thomas Jane taking on the role of Frank Castle in a story rooted more in gritty crime cinema than superhero spectacle. Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, the film leaned into revenge-thriller conventions, pitting Castle against a crime family after the murder of his own. It found a cult following among genre fans who appreciated its harder edge, and it remains a notable entry in the character's uneven journey to the screen, made more curious by Dolph Lundgren's earlier turn as the same character in 1989.
This cell, Frank Castle - Locked & Loaded, captures the character at his most defining state: armed, prepared, resolved. Castle is the everyman turned instrument of justice, a figure collectors seek for his stripped down mythology built on loss and retribution rather than powers. The phrase itself signals the moment before action, the calm discipline of a man readying his war. With both Jane's Castle and Lundgren's earlier incarnation named together, the piece bridges two eras of the Punisher's screen history in a single frame of intent.
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 the lower edge beside the picture area, appearing as a narrow light-modulated stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
The base shows a cyan-teal tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears warm with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is 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 continuous shot, consistent with an action sequence from a 2004 theatrical release.
Era check
The cyan-base colour print stock, variable-area optical soundtrack, and perforation style are all consistent with a mid-2000s 35mm theatrical release print, matching the 2004 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 000064385
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
