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, a modestly budgeted revival of the Marvel vigilante for the pre-MCU era, when comic adaptations still had to prove theatrical viability on their own terms. Thomas Jane took the lead as Frank Castle, a former Marine and FBI agent turned one-man war on the criminals who slaughtered his family. The film leaned into gritty, R-rated revenge cinema rather than spectacle, positioning itself closer to genre thrillers of the period than to the superhero blockbusters that would soon dominate multiplexes.
This cell preserves Frank Castle in his armed state, a defining posture for the character rather than an incidental one. Castle's identity is inseparable from weaponry and preparation; the Punisher mythos is built on methodical retribution, and any frame showing him armed touches the core of that persona. For collectors, this is the essential image of the character, the moment that separates the grieving family man from the instrument of justice he becomes. A 35mm cell like this one offers a physical fragment of that transformation, a tactile piece of the film's identity.
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, with what appears to be a secondary data region consistent with a Dolby Digital pixel block in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Upper edge reads partially as what appears to be a key-number sequence; legible characters suggest something approximating '3 7MS 1C1 008190' though some characters are obscured at this size.
Base & colour
The base shows a cyan-tinted safety stock backing; the dye image appears warm with no obvious colour shift or fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of a 2004 live-action feature.
Era check
The combination of cyan-base safety stock, variable-area optical track with apparent Dolby Digital data blocks, and positive colour image is consistent with a 2004 theatrical release print.
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 000064425
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
