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 hard-edged reboot of the Marvel vigilante built around Thomas Jane's Frank Castle and John Travolta's villainy. Released outside the emerging Marvel Studios machine, it stands as one of the grittier comic adaptations of its decade, favoring pulp revenge cinema over spectacle, and it retains a following among fans of early-2000s crime thrillers who value its unpolished tone over the glossier superhero fare that followed.
This cell preserves Mickey Duka, the nervous informant and comic relief tangled up in Castle's Tampa apartment complex, a role that gives the story its uneasy moral texture amid the surrounding brutality. Collectors seek out Duka frames because supporting players rarely survive in film strip form compared to the lead, making this a niche but meaningful piece for anyone assembling a fuller cast record of the picture rather than just its central avenger.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Punisher (2004).
Gauge
35mm, 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 throughout the visible strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as two wavy white lines consistent with a stereo variable-area format; Dolby Digital pixel blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a hybrid SR·D optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at a legible level; no key numbers or manufacturer text can be read.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight cyan-teal tint consistent with a modern safety estar base; the dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal scratches are visible running parallel to the film length, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
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 release print of The Punisher (2004).
Era check
The hybrid Dolby SR·D variable-area plus digital data block soundtrack format, cyan-tinted estar base, and colour positive stock are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the early-to-mid 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 000064440
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
