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 courtesy of Lionsgate, part of the early-2000s push to bring darker comic properties to the screen before the superhero genre tilted toward brighter spectacle. Based on the Marvel vigilante created in the 1970s, the film leaned into revenge-thriller conventions rather than costumed heroics, casting Thomas Jane in the lead. It occupies a notable spot in the pre-MCU era, when studios experimented with tone and genre before a unified cinematic universe took hold, making it a touchstone for collectors interested in that transitional period of comic book cinema.
This cell holds Frank Castle himself, the character whose name is inseparable from the Punisher mythos. Collectors seek him out because he is the axis the entire story turns on, a former soldier turned lone avenger. A cell bearing his name alone, without surrounding cast, points to a moment built around his presence specifically, the kind of isolated character shot often used in trailers or credits sequences to establish who the audience is meant to follow into the darkness.
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 in this capture.
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 running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analog waveform; Dolby Digital data blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Not fully legible in this capture; partial characters are visible along the edge but cannot be quoted with confidence.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm tint; dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible running parallel to the film length, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a live-action feature matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track alongside 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 000064416
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
