Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
FILM NOTES
Released in 2004 through Lionsgate, The Punisher arrived as part of a wave of grittier comic adaptations aiming to distance themselves from the more polished superhero pictures of the era. Thomas Jane took on the role of Frank Castle, a man who abandons his name to wage a private war against the syndicate that destroyed his family. The film leaned into pulp violence and revenge cinema roots rather than spectacle, drawing on Marvel's darker antihero catalog at a moment when studios were still testing how far these stories could go on screen. It has since built a following among fans who prize its unpolished, hard edged approach.
This cell isolates the confrontation between Castle and The Russian, one of the film's most talked about set pieces. Kevin Nash's imposing presence as The Russian made the character an instant fixture in fan memory, a brutal obstacle in Castle's path built for prolonged physical combat rather than dialogue. Collectors seek this pairing because it represents the film's rawest expression of Castle's punishment, man against man with no theatrics. As a 35mm frame, it preserves a single fragment of that sustained battle, a physical artifact from one of the more memorable sequences in the movie's legacy.
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 Dolby Digital data block pattern visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters reliably.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight cyan-teal tint consistent with modern safety stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible running parallel to the film edge on at least one frame, consistent with projection wear.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to run consecutively within a single shot and the industrial interior setting and character wardrobe are consistent with The Punisher (2004).
Era check
The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and the cyan-tinted polyester safety base, is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s.
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 000064452
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
