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 as Lionsgate's attempt to revive the Marvel vigilante for a post-Blade, pre-MCU audience, following a troubled 1989 adaptation that never reached wide theaters. Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and led by Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, the film leaned into pulpy crime-thriller territory rather than superhero spectacle, drawing a cult following for its brutal tone and John Travolta's villainous turn. It remains a touchstone for collectors tracing early attempts to bring darker Marvel properties to screen.
This cell centers on Howard Saint, the crime boss whose empire and family are destroyed by Castle's vendetta, played by Travolta in a role built on menace and controlled fury. As the film's central antagonist, Saint drives the plot's engine of vengeance, making any cell bearing his name a marker of the story's core conflict. For collectors, this is a character-anchor piece, the kind of 35mm frame that represents the villain's presence within the film's identity rather than a single scripted line or effect shot.
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 each edge; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean throughout the strip.
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, and a DTS timecode stripe is also discernible, consistent with a tri-format release print.
Edge print
Not clearly legible in this capture; faint edge markings are present but cannot be quoted with confidence.
Base & colour
Base appears with a warm-amber tint on the lower edge strip; the dye image reads as warm overall with no obvious colour shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible splices or cue marks; faint longitudinal lines are present on the base side, 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, consistent with a release print of The Punisher (2004).
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a mid-2000s theatrical release print, 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 000064455
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
