Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Released by Lionsgate in 2004, The Punisher brought Marvel's grim vigilante to the screen in an era before the character-driven superhero boom reshaped the genre. Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and starring Thomas Jane, the film leaned into hard-edged vengeance storytelling rather than spectacle, positioning itself alongside other early-2000s attempts to translate darker comic properties for a mainstream audience. It remains a touchstone for fans who prefer their antiheroes unglamorous and relentless, a bridge between comic book pulp and the crime thriller.
This cell centers on Frank Castle himself, the former soldier turned one-man war on the criminals who destroyed his family. Collectors seek out Castle material because he anchors the entire franchise identity, the skull emblem and quiet fury that define the Punisher mythos. A cell bearing his name and likeness in dual designation, both the man and the mantle, speaks to the character's core duality: ordinary father beneath, executioner above. For archival purposes, this represents a foundational character study frame, marking the transformation at the heart of the film.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical 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 torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical print; Dolby Digital pixel blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base presents a warm-neutral to slightly amber tint; the dye image reads as a positive colour print 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, and the subject matter is consistent with a release print of The Punisher (2004).
Era check
The combination of a colour positive base, variable-area optical track, and Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, 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 000064397
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
