Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Released in 2004 through Lionsgate, The Punisher brought Marvel's grim vigilante to screen years before the character's later television and cinematic revivals. Thomas Jane starred as Frank Castle, a former agent turned one man war on crime after the murder of his family. Modestly budgeted and darker in tone than typical comic adaptations of its time, the film has earned a devoted following among fans who prize its unpolished, revenge driven sensibility.
This cell, Frank Castle - Armed, marks a defining image of the character himself, the moment where Castle stands equipped for the war he has chosen. For collectors, it represents the Punisher's core identity, a man defined by weaponry and purpose rather than heroics. As a single frame drawn from the film's reel, it preserves a piece of that identity in physical form, a tangible fragment of the character's ongoing legacy on 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 visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a secondary Dolby Digital data block pattern visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin stripe beside the optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base shows a warm amber-golden tint on the lower strip edge; the image dye layer appears warm with slight orange-red shift consistent with a colour print stock.
Projection history
Light horizontal 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 shot, and the subject matter is consistent with a live-action theatrical release matching the film on record.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, a DTS timecode stripe, and colour print stock is consistent with a 2004 theatrical release print production standard.
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 000064426
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
