The Punisher (1989 film)
Encyclopedia
The Punisher is a 1989 film
starring Dolph Lundgren
as Frank Castle
, directed by Mark Goldblatt
from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin
. It is loosely based on the Marvel Comics
' character The Punisher
. The film changes many details of the comic book origin and the main character does not wear the trademark "skull". The Punisher was filmed in Sydney
, Australia
and also featured Louis Gossett, Jr.
, Jeroen Krabbé
, Kim Miyori
, Nancy Everhard and Barry Otto
.
Artisan Entertainment
and Lionsgate
attempted to reboot the film series
in 2004 with The Punisher
, and again with 2008's Punisher: War Zone
.
is the city's most wanted, and most mysterious, vigilante, known as "The Punisher". He has killed 125 people in the last 5 years. Castle is an ex-police officer
, whose family was murdered in a mob
hit. Living in the sewer
s and waging a one-man war against organized crime
, his only friend is an old alcoholic
named Shake, who speaks in rhyme for reasons unexplained. Now legally declared dead, he strikes back from beyond the grave, killing mobsters wherever he can find them. Due to his war against them, the Mafia
families have weakened, forcing one of the family leaders, Gianni Franco, to come in and take control. Franco has a plan to bring the families together as one unit. This, however, has attracted the attention of the Yakuza
, Asia's most powerful crime syndicate. Led by Lady Tanaka, the Yakuza decide to take over the Mafia families and all of their interests. In order to sway the mobsters to their cause, they kidnap their children and hold them for ransom
.
Shake pleads with the Punisher to save the children, who are likely to be sold into childhood slavery regardless of whether or not the Mafia give into the demands. While he is able to save most of the children with a .45 Thompson M1928 submachine gun, the Mafia leader's son is taken away to the Yakuza headquarters. Furthermore, the Punisher is taken into custody by the police, only to be freed by Franco's men. Franco persuades the Punisher to help him save his son, and stop the Japan
ese criminal underworld from taking root in America. Franco and the Punisher raid the Yakuza headquarters, fight and kill all the Yakuza, including Lady Tanaka and her daughter. Upon being reunited with his son, Franco betrays the Punisher in an effort to kill him, but the Punisher wins the duel, killing Franco. As the police arrive, Castle warns Franco's son not to follow the sins of his father, and vanishes from the scene.
martial artists from Japan were used in place of stunt men for some of the fight scenes with Lundgren.
The film was given a worldwide theatrical release, except in the United States and Sweden. The film was originally slated for a US release in August 1989; trailers were even created by New World promoting the film. The film was shown once at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Sci-fi Convention, however the film never received a theatrical release in the United States due to New World's financial difficulties and was released on home video (VHS and Laserdisc) in 1991. It finally premiered at the 2008 Escapism Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina
where director Mark Goldblatt
screened his own personal 35mm print (which he showed again in 2009 at the Dolph Lundgren
Film Fest hosted by the New Beverly theater).
, based on 17 reviews (13 negative, 4 positive). Christopher Null
gave the film 1 out of 5, stating the film was "marred by cheeseball sets and special effects, lame fight sequences, and some of the worst acting ever to disgrace the screen." MTV.com cited it as an example of a failed comic book film, complaining that the film omitted aspects of the character that made him compelling, and would have served better following closer to the plot of the source material. Whilst criticizing the film's storyline and acting, Time Out magazine concluded the film was "destructive, reprehensible, and marvelous fun". TV Guide
s movie guide gave the film three out of four starts, praising Lundgren's portrayal of the character and compared the characterization of the Punisher to that of Frank Miller
's re-imagining of Batman
in The Dark Knight Returns. They further praised the film's atmosphere, calling it "genuinely comic book-like, rather than cartoonish".
at the Warner Bros.
soundstage in Burbank, California. A CD
of the soundtrack
was not released until July 19, 2005 (Perseverance Records
, PRD006). The CD includes several interviews with the director and the composer, as well as the complete multi-track stereo recording. Perseverance Records also released the 5.1 mix as an SACD, in collaboration with Tarantula Records (TARAN001). The DVD release only contains a monaural (single track) soundtrack.
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
starring Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
as Frank Castle
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
, directed by Mark Goldblatt
Mark Goldblatt
Mark Goldblatt is an Academy Award nominated, American film editor, and director. A graduate of the London Film School, he is a member, and a former president, of the American Cinema Editors, or ACE society, as well as, a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and...
from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin
Boaz Yakin
Boaz Yakin is an American screenwriter and film director based in New York City. Yakin studied filmmaking at New York City College and New York University.-Life and career:...
. It is loosely based on the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' character The Punisher
Punisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
. The film changes many details of the comic book origin and the main character does not wear the trademark "skull". The Punisher was filmed in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and also featured Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
, Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Aart Krabbé is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films.-Biography:...
, Kim Miyori
Kim Miyori
Kim Miyori is an American actress, best known for the role of Dr. Wendy Armstrong on the first two seasons of the 1980s medical drama St...
, Nancy Everhard and Barry Otto
Barry Otto
Barry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change......
.
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and...
and Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
attempted to reboot the film series
The Punisher (film series)
The fictional character Punisher, a comic book anti-hero featured in Marvel Comics publications, has appeared in three films unrelated to each other. The first film was in 1989 and was released straight to video and starred Dolph Lundgren. The second film was released in theaters and starred Thomas...
in 2004 with The Punisher
The Punisher (2004 film)
The Punisher is a 2004 American comic book action film, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Thomas Jane as the antihero Frank Castle / The Punisher and John Travolta as the villain Howard Saint, a money launderer who orders the death of Castle's entire family...
, and again with 2008's Punisher: War Zone
Punisher: War Zone
Punisher: War Zone is a 2008 comic book action film directed by Lexi Alexander; based on the fictional Marvel Comics vigilante/anti-hero the Punisher. It is the third film to depict the Marvel character Frank Castle...
.
Plot
Frank CastlePunisher
The Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,...
is the city's most wanted, and most mysterious, vigilante, known as "The Punisher". He has killed 125 people in the last 5 years. Castle is an ex-police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, whose family was murdered in a mob
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
hit. Living in the sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
s and waging a one-man war against organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, his only friend is an old alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
named Shake, who speaks in rhyme for reasons unexplained. Now legally declared dead, he strikes back from beyond the grave, killing mobsters wherever he can find them. Due to his war against them, the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
families have weakened, forcing one of the family leaders, Gianni Franco, to come in and take control. Franco has a plan to bring the families together as one unit. This, however, has attracted the attention of the Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, Asia's most powerful crime syndicate. Led by Lady Tanaka, the Yakuza decide to take over the Mafia families and all of their interests. In order to sway the mobsters to their cause, they kidnap their children and hold them for ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
.
Shake pleads with the Punisher to save the children, who are likely to be sold into childhood slavery regardless of whether or not the Mafia give into the demands. While he is able to save most of the children with a .45 Thompson M1928 submachine gun, the Mafia leader's son is taken away to the Yakuza headquarters. Furthermore, the Punisher is taken into custody by the police, only to be freed by Franco's men. Franco persuades the Punisher to help him save his son, and stop the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese criminal underworld from taking root in America. Franco and the Punisher raid the Yakuza headquarters, fight and kill all the Yakuza, including Lady Tanaka and her daughter. Upon being reunited with his son, Franco betrays the Punisher in an effort to kill him, but the Punisher wins the duel, killing Franco. As the police arrive, Castle warns Franco's son not to follow the sins of his father, and vanishes from the scene.
Cast
- Dolph LundgrenDolph LundgrenDolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
as Frank Castle / The PunisherPunisherThe Punisher is a fictional character, an anti-hero appearing in comic books based in the . Created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita, Sr., and Ross Andru, the character made its first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #129 .The Punisher is a vigilante who employs murder,... - Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
as Jake Berkowitz - Jeroen KrabbéJeroen KrabbéJeroen Aart Krabbé is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films.-Biography:...
as Gianni Franco - Kim MiyoriKim MiyoriKim Miyori is an American actress, best known for the role of Dr. Wendy Armstrong on the first two seasons of the 1980s medical drama St...
as Lady Tanaka - Bryan MarshallBryan MarshallBryan Marshall is an English actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name.Marshall was born in Clapham, London...
as Dino Moretti - Nancy Everhard as Sam Leary
- Barry OttoBarry OttoBarry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change......
as Shake - Brian RooneyBrian Rooney (actor)Brian Rooney is a British actor with a number of television and stage credits. He is best known for his childhood television performances, in particular the part of Michael Winters in G.P....
as Tommy Franco - Zoshka Mizak as Tanaka's daughter
- Larry McCormickLarry McCormick (TV)Lawrence William "Larry" McCormick was an American television actor, reporter and news anchor, most notably working for Los Angeles television station KTLA-TV.-Biography:...
as TV newsreader - Kenji Yamaki as Sato
- Todd BoyceTodd BoyceTodd Boyce was born in December 1960 in Columbus, Ohio.He was raised in upstate New York, Germany, Chicago and Brazil. At age 16 Todd moved with his family to Australia where he finished his schooling at Sydney Church of England Grammar School and promptly joined the Australian soap opera The...
as Terrone - Hirofumi Kanayama as Tomio
- Lani John TupuLani TupuLani Tupu is a classically trained actor. He was educated at Rongotai College and Wellington Teacher's Training College. He was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Bursary in 1977 to enter New Zealand Drama School, where he graduated in 1978...
as Laccone - John NegroponteJohn NegroponteJohn Dimitri Negroponte is an American diplomat. He is currently a research fellow and lecturer in international affairs at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs...
as Musso
Development and production
To give the film a further sense of realism, two KarateKarate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
martial artists from Japan were used in place of stunt men for some of the fight scenes with Lundgren.
The film was given a worldwide theatrical release, except in the United States and Sweden. The film was originally slated for a US release in August 1989; trailers were even created by New World promoting the film. The film was shown once at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Sci-fi Convention, however the film never received a theatrical release in the United States due to New World's financial difficulties and was released on home video (VHS and Laserdisc) in 1991. It finally premiered at the 2008 Escapism Film Festival in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
where director Mark Goldblatt
Mark Goldblatt
Mark Goldblatt is an Academy Award nominated, American film editor, and director. A graduate of the London Film School, he is a member, and a former president, of the American Cinema Editors, or ACE society, as well as, a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and...
screened his own personal 35mm print (which he showed again in 2009 at the Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren
Dolph Lundgren is a Swedish actor, director, and martial artist. He belongs to a generation of film actors who epitomise the movie action hero stereotype including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme.A graduate in chemical...
Film Fest hosted by the New Beverly theater).
Reception
The film received mainly negative reviews. It currently holds a 24% approval rating at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 17 reviews (13 negative, 4 positive). Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Christopher Null is a film critic, columnist and former blogger for Yahoo! Tech, editor of Drinkhacker.com, and is the founder and editor in chief of Filmcritic.com.-Publications:...
gave the film 1 out of 5, stating the film was "marred by cheeseball sets and special effects, lame fight sequences, and some of the worst acting ever to disgrace the screen." MTV.com cited it as an example of a failed comic book film, complaining that the film omitted aspects of the character that made him compelling, and would have served better following closer to the plot of the source material. Whilst criticizing the film's storyline and acting, Time Out magazine concluded the film was "destructive, reprehensible, and marvelous fun". TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
s movie guide gave the film three out of four starts, praising Lundgren's portrayal of the character and compared the characterization of the Punisher to that of Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
's re-imagining of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
in The Dark Knight Returns. They further praised the film's atmosphere, calling it "genuinely comic book-like, rather than cartoonish".
Soundtrack
A full orchestral score was composed and conducted by Dennis DreithDennis Dreith
Dennis Dreith is a motion picture music composer, arranger, and conductor. He is also known as an influential advocate for studio musician's rights.-Life:...
at the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
soundstage in Burbank, California. A CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
of the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
was not released until July 19, 2005 (Perseverance Records
Perseverance Records
Perseverance Records is a record label which releases film scores on CD and online. Releases are usually accompanied by extensive, well-researched booklets...
, PRD006). The CD includes several interviews with the director and the composer, as well as the complete multi-track stereo recording. Perseverance Records also released the 5.1 mix as an SACD, in collaboration with Tarantula Records (TARAN001). The DVD release only contains a monaural (single track) soundtrack.
Track listing
- "Main Titles" (2:20)
- "Follow Dino" (0:18)
- "Welcome Home Dino" (1:14)
- "Dino Bites the Dust" (0:26)
- "Praying for a Flashback" (1:05)
- "Perfectly Frank" (0:24)
- "Harbor Shoot-Em-Up" (4:24)
- "Punisher M.D." (0:48)
- "Tanaka Meets Franco" (1:13)
- "Tanaka and the Punisher" (1:07)
- "Suffer the Children" (1:25)
- "Path to Tanaka" (0:34)
- "Chopin" (1:12)
- "Party Pooping Punisher" (1:52)
- "The Pier" (1:39)
- "The Funhouse" (0:51)
- "Funhouse Shootout" (2:34)
- "Pretty Poison" (1:53)
- "Harbor Aftermath" (1:41)
- "The Mission" (1:03)
- "Armored Car" (0:41)
- "Choose Your Weapon" (0:56)
- "Bulletproof Bus" (4:51)
- "Mini Nightmare" (0:32)
- "Class Dismissed" (2:21)
- "Wake Up" (1:46)
- "Pain in the Neck (Tanaka's Last Stand)" (3:53)
- "Goodbye Castle" (3:51)
- "Punisher Signature" (0:36)
- "End Title" (4:24)
- "Planet of Love" by Harry Garfield and Simon Stokes (4:37)
- Interview: Getting the Job (6:48)
- Interview: Spotting (1:09)
- Interview: Scoring Scenes (4:31)
- Interview: Orchestration (1:49)
- Interview: Scoring Session (2:38)
- Interview: Editing Musically (3:00)
- Interview: Soundtrack/Distribution (2:40)
- Interview: Sign-Off (0:16)
External links
- The Punisher on Dolph-Ultimate.com
- The Punisher on Marvel.com
- The Punisher at Superheroes Lives
- The Greatest Movie in the World: The Punisher (1989), quasi-satirical article by Miles Prower