Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
The Punisher arrived in 2004 through Lionsgate and Marvel Enterprises, a gritty attempt to bring the vigilante antihero to the screen well before the modern superhero boom reshaped the genre. Thomas Jane stepped into the role of Frank Castle, a man remade by loss into a one-man war against organized crime. The film sits in an odd but fascinating pocket of comic book cinema, made when studios were still uncertain how to translate darker Marvel properties into box office success, and it has since earned a cult following among fans who prize its unapologetically hard-edged tone over spectacle.
This cell centers on Frank Castle in his identity as the Punisher, captured in a moment collectors describe as Locked & Loaded, a phrase that speaks directly to preparation and resolve. It marks him as a character defined by readiness for violence, armed and committed to his mission before the action unfolds. For collectors, Castle represents one of Marvel's rare morally ambiguous figures, and a cell tied to this particular phrase holds appeal as a distilled symbol of his purpose, whether drawn from a trailer strip or an early promotional reel meant to establish his resolve.
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 with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area strip; Dolby Digital data blocks are not clearly distinguishable at this size, and no DTS timecode line or SDDS outer-edge tracks are visible.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-golden tint on the lower strip edge; the dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible splices, cue marks or significant scratching are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with an action sequence from a 2004 theatrical release print.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track, warm polyester base tint, and colour positive dye image are all consistent with a mid-2000s theatrical release print of the period when The Punisher (2004) would have been in distribution.
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 000064387
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
