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 through Lionsgate as part of the studio's early push into hard-edged action fare adapted from Marvel properties, well before the character found renewed footing on television and in later features. Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and starring Thomas Jane, it retold Frank Castle's origin with a pulpy, revenge-thriller sensibility rooted more in 1980s crime cinema than in traditional superhero spectacle, giving it a cult following among collectors who value that grittier lineage.
This cell centers on Howard Saint, the crime boss played by John Travolta, whose empire and family losses set the entire revenge plot in motion. As the film's primary antagonist, Saint anchors the story's escalating conflict, making frames bearing his name a natural focal point for collectors tracing character-driven cells. A single-subject cell like this one isolates that presence directly, offering a clean artifact tied to the film's central adversarial figure rather than to ensemble or promotional material.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour 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 one edge beside the picture area, appearing as two bilateral tracks with a visible waveform pattern; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are also visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a warm amber-gold tint on the lower strip edge and a cooler teal-green tint on the upper edge, consistent with a colour dye image on polyester safety base; the dye image appears saturated with no obvious fading.
Projection history
Fine longitudinal lines consistent with projection are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of a 2004 feature film.
Era check
The combination of a bilateral variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and colour polyester base 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 000064438
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
