Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Released in 2004, this adaptation of Marvel's antihero property arrived from Lionsgate as a grittier alternative to the era's rising superhero output. Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh and starring Thomas Jane, it leaned into vigilante crime drama rather than spectacle, drawing on the character's long comic history dating back to 1974. The film sits at a transitional point for genre cinema, made before studios settled into the polished house style that would define the following decade, and it retains a following among those who prize its rougher, more grounded tone.
This cell centers on Frank Castle, the former soldier turned Punisher, a figure whose appeal rests on grief transformed into method and purpose. Collectors seek him out for his singular skull emblem and the weight his name carries across decades of print and screen appearances. A frame bearing this identification, whether drawn from trailer material or a studio credits sequence, marks a foundational point of reference, the character established plainly and without embellishment, exactly as the era's marketing would have wanted audiences to first encounter him.
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, evenly spaced; punching appears clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin stripe beside the optical track.
Edge print
Upper edge reads partially as '464082 003' and further along '11 30 465 TCF 4061962'; 'SAFETY' text is not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a warm amber-gold tint on the lower edge strip and a cooler blue-tinted leader area on the upper edge; dye image appears intact with no obvious fading.
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; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with an action sequence from The Punisher (2004).
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital data blocks, and DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 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 000064458
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
