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, a modestly budgeted attempt to bring Marvel's grim vigilante to the screen well before the studio system built around such properties matured. Thomas Jane took the lead as Frank Castle, and the picture leaned into hard R territory, closer to a revenge thriller than a superhero spectacle. It found its audience on home video and cable rather than at the box office, becoming a cult favorite for fans who preferred their comic adaptations bleak and unglamorous. For collectors of early 2000s genre cinema, it marks a transitional moment before Marvel properties became polished, franchise driven products.
This cell holds Frank Castle himself, the character whose name carries the weight of the entire film. Castle is the former agent turned one man army, and any frame bearing his identity is a direct link to the story's central figure rather than a supporting presence. Collectors of Punisher material prize pieces tied to the man at the center, since the mythology depends entirely on his presence. A 35mm cell like this preserves a physical fragment of that portrayal, a tangible remnant from the reel itself.
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, evenly spaced, cleanly punched with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area format.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer text or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight cyan-green tint consistent with modern safety stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible; the surface appears consistent with a projected release print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of The Punisher (2004).
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track, cyan-tinted safety base, and colour dye image are all consistent with a 2004 theatrical release print era.
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 000064400
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
