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 arrived as part of a wave of comic adaptations seeking to prove that darker, R-rated source material could find a theatrical audience outside the Marvel Studios machine. Thomas Jane took on the role of Frank Castle, a vigilante forged from tragedy, in a production that leaned into pulp violence and vengeance rather than spectacle. The film has since become a touchstone for fans of grittier superhero cinema, remembered for its earnest commitment to the character's brutal ethos even as it divided critics on release.
This cell, marked Frank Castle - Armed, isolates the character at his defining function: a man who answers loss with weaponry. Collectors seek Castle material because he represents the rare hero built entirely on retribution, and an armed depiction speaks directly to that identity, whether drawn from a trailer assembly or a strip cut for exhibition. The credit line naming both "Frank Castle" and "Frank Castle / The Punisher" suggests the piece bridges the man and the mantle, a fitting pairing for a story that never separates the two.
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 running along the bottom edge of the picture area, appearing as two bilateral variable-area lines with a Dolby noise-reduction signature; Dolby Digital data blocks are not clearly distinguishable in this capture.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-golden tint consistent with a colour dye-coupler image; no obvious fading or red shift is apparent.
Projection history
Light vertical 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 continuous shot, consistent with a release print of The Punisher (2004).
Era check
The bilateral variable-area optical soundtrack, warm colour stock base, and positive print format are all consistent with a 2000s theatrical release print 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 000064436
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
