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, part of a mid-2000s push to bring darker, R-rated comic properties to theaters before the superhero genre tilted toward franchise polish. Adapted from the Marvel Knights line, it starred Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, a former Marine and federal agent turned vigilante after his family is murdered by organized crime. The film leaned into revenge-thriller territory rather than spectacle, and it holds a place in Marvel's screen history as one of the earlier, grittier attempts to translate street-level comics to film, predating the studio's later cinematic universe.
This 35mm cell preserves Frank Castle himself, the character whose name is inseparable from the Punisher mythos. Collectors seek him out because he anchors the entire film, a single-figure presence built on loss and method rather than costume or crowd scenes. A cell isolating Castle alone speaks to character study over action, a frame meant to hold his identity rather than surrounding incident. For anyone assembling Marvel or Lionsgate-era holdings, a Castle-only cell represents the character's screen essence distilled to its simplest, most collectible form.
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 throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area on the lower edge, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, and a DTS timecode stripe appears to run along the lower margin as well.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight warm-neutral tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears intact with no visible fading or colour shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
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 combination of dual bilateral variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a mid-2000s theatrical release print, matching the 2004 release date of the film 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 000064404
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
