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Released by: Umbrella Entertainment
Release Date: April 25th, 1991 (video)
September 16th, 2016 (blu-ray)
Region Code REGION FREE, but read the "Gag Reel" section to find out more
Run Time: 1h 29m
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Video: 1080p (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio) (Theatrical Version)
480p (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio) (Unrated Cut)
720p (1.78:1 Aspect Ratio) (Workprint)
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The Punisher (Unrated
Cut) (1h 29m, SD)
When The Punisher was sent to the MPAA to be rated, they
gave the film an “X” for the violence. The filmmakers had to go back and cut
some of the more gruesome shots out of the film. They only had to cut ten
seconds to obtain an “R”.
For years, fans of the film have had to settle for bootlegs
of this “Unrated Cut” that came from overseas. The bootlegged version was very
poor as it was many generations away from the original source. Fans ate up this
bootlegged version because it was all we had.
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To me, this is ok as it is the only way to get the full uncut version of the film.
I do wish that Umbrella Entertainment, who released this
disc, or Severin, who produced the special features, had done what Scream
Factory and Arrow Films have done and edit the uncut footage into the HD print
of the R-rated version. This would have
allowed for two versions of the film in HD and transition wouldn’t have been
too bad.
Maybe one day some dvd company will come along and find the
uncut version on film. That would be nice.
Commentary with
director Mark Goldblatt (Uncut Version)
Goldblatt provides us with an excellent commentary. He knows how to tell a story, his story, and he does it very well. We learn about all sorts of things here and he expands on some of the stuff from the featurette that his is in. I had no idea, until this release, that this film was shot, wholly, in Australia. When I looked at the licence plates I can tell, but before that, never knew. He also talks about how he loved shooting in Australia and how they got some of the stunt men from Hong Kong. Great commentary.
Goldblatt provides us with an excellent commentary. He knows how to tell a story, his story, and he does it very well. We learn about all sorts of things here and he expands on some of the stuff from the featurette that his is in. I had no idea, until this release, that this film was shot, wholly, in Australia. When I looked at the licence plates I can tell, but before that, never knew. He also talks about how he loved shooting in Australia and how they got some of the stunt men from Hong Kong. Great commentary.
The Punisher
(Workprint Version) (1h 37m, 720p HD)
This is the version that Mark Goldblatt had come up with
when the film was first edited. It gives the Frank Castle character more screen
time with his wife and family before they are killed. In the theatrical version
we don’t get to see too many of these scenes and they are mostly told in
flashback. We also get some more scenes between Lundgren and Gossett Jr, who
plays Franks ex-partner in the film. In fact, Gossett Jr. is in the scene when
the family is killed, but for some reason they cut around him.
I thought that this version of the film was good, but it
needs to be tightened, as some scenes play too long. I love the added scenes
and believe that at least some of them should have been included in the
theatrical version.
This is also another way to see all of the Uncut Version
extended death scenes.
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Mark Goldblatt gives us a wealth of information about the
making of the film. He was contacted by Robert Mark Kamen, who wrote The Karate
Kid as well as a lot of films with Luc Besson) and offered him the job of
directing The Punisher. New World Pictures and Robert Mark Kamen came to an
agreement to have Goldblatt direct the film and New World would put up the
money as well as release the film.
He also talks about meeting Stan Lee and getting Lee’s
blessing on the film. Lee would later reveal that he didn’t like the film because
he found it too violent.
Goldblatt also talks about his views on R-rated films which
seways very nice into his history as an editor. Goldblatt has edited some
fantastic film like the first two Terminator films as well as Nightbreed,
Predator 2, Piranha, and Commando.
Talk moves back to The Punisher with Goldblatt revealing
that Christopher Lambert and Steven Seagal were both talked to about starring
in the film. Lambert was walking on a crutch and Seagal had other offers, so
they went with Lundgren instead. Goldblatt also talks about leaving the skull
off of the clothing (a mistake) and the subsequent direct to video release of
the film is the States because of New World falling apart.
This is a really good interview. It does seem a bit all over
the place and this is why the pace of the interview is off. There is a wealth
of information, though, so this counts as a good interview in my book.
Vengeance is Him
(Interview with Dolph Lundgren) (5m 27s, HD)
Lundgren is interviewed inside of a gym before (I think) his
normal workout. Lundgren talks about filming in Australia, where he went to
college) and how it was nice to see his old friends. He also speaks very highly
of the stunt team that worked on the film. He likes the film but is
disappointed that that most of the family scenes were cut, as well as with the
release of the film in the States.
This is a good interview. I have always been a big fan of
Lundgren (my first laserdisc was a Dolph Lundgren film called Pentathlon, which
wasn’t very good, but he was) and I found him very inviting here. He just seems
like a really nice guy who loves making films. It is a shame that this
interview was so short. Lundgren probably had very little time to talk and that
is why he is interviewed in his workout gear. Still, it is a good interview.
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This is more of a behind the scenes montage than a gag reel.
We see a lot of the cast and crew having fun on set. There are a few gags here,
but it is mostly BTS stuff. Most of it is also silent except for the song that
plays over the footage.
This feature and the
trailer MAY be in the PAL format. I watched the entire preceding special
features on my REGION A blu-ray player. When it came to these two special
features the player just went to a black screen. Nothing would happen, so I had
to stop the disc and restart it. After a few times of doing this, I put the
disc in the REGION A blu-ray player that is in the living room. Again, a black
screen. Finally I tried it on my REGION FREE player and the two special features
worked. I wanted to bring this to everyone’s attention. EVERYTHING ELSE works
on a REGION A player.
Theatrical Trailer
(1m 40s, SD)
Just a regular run of the mill trailer that highlights the
story and the action.
THE PACKAGING [3 out of 4]
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The disc art is the same as the reverse artwork.
This is a one disc release and the disc is REGION FREE, but
read above in the “Gag Reel” section for a problem that one might encounter if
their player is REGION A.
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Umbrella has given us a dated transfer in the film’s
original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but this is not to say that the transfer is
bad. It is good for the most part.
Because the transfer is dated there is very little depth to
the picture, resulting in a very flat looking display. The close-ups show a
fair amount of detail, but the wide shots are less detailed.
There is good news, though. There has been no digital
manipulation (No DNR, haloing, etc) which does make me happy. There is a fine
amount of grain, which I also liked.
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THE SOUND [3 out of 4] |
Sporting a
5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track, The Punisher sounds a little bit shallow. The
track is not very aggressive, which was not what I was hoping for. This is an
action film, so the track should be very lively and aggressive.
The dialogue
is clear and there were no audio hick-ups that I noticed.
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I was in
junior high when The Punisher hit video stores after a two year wait. The film
was supposed to be released in theaters in 1989, but New World Pictures, the
company that financed the film, went under and the film was sold IVE
Entertainment. Known as a company that released the films that they picked up
on VHS, The Punisher was relegated to the direct-to-video market, where it did
very well for the company.
I had wanted
to see the film in theaters and even saw some talk about in various genre
magazines of the 80’s. After the film missed its original release date, I fell
out of touch with what was going on. When the film then resurfaced in my local
video store two years later, I was excited.
I remember going home and watching the film
and being a little disappointed. The action was there, the dark tone was there,
Dolph Lundgren was there. What could have happened?
Well, after
25 years I can say that my younger self was suffering from “hype”, something
that I held onto for the two years that I had to wait for the film to hit
video. Because of that wait, the hype kept growing. It grew so big that no
matter how good the film was, it would turn out to be a stinker.
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The film
stars Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle, a cop whose family is killed in a car
bombing. The mafia thinks that Castle was getting too close to their
operations, so they killed the family, and what they thought was Castle, in the
bombing. Castle was there but he survived.
Castle has now become The Punisher, a man who lives in the sewers and fights crime, kind of
like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, only more violent.
Castle works
alone, but is tailed by his former partner, played by Oscar winner Louis
Gossett Jr, who wants to help Castle, but also wants to put him away for all
killing that Castle has been doing. Gossett Jr is great in the film, giving a
little bit of grounding that the film just doesn’t have on its own.
I have heard
people say that The Punisher is a bad film and they take offense to all the
changes to the character and his world. To that I say: whatever. These people
have to realize is that The Punisher was the third comic book character to hit
the big screen (at least that was the plan). Before this film, we had Superman
and its three sequels, and Batman which was in production at the same time as
The Punisher. No one really knew how to adapt comic books into film very well
so this was a time of chance. They had to see what worked and what didn’t. The
same year that The Punisher was supposed to be released in the theaters, we had
Batman, which was a cultural phenomenon.
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It wouldn’t
be until the following year, with the release of Blade, that the studios
started sticking their toe into the comic book adaptation water. After Blade
came X-men and so on. Back in 1988 when
The Punisher was being made, the
filmmakers were just trying to make a good film with the character of the
Punisher. They really didn’t care that he didn’t have the skull on his shirt
(which Goldblatt admits was a miscalculation). They just wanted to stay true to
the character and I believe that they did.
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The Punisher
contains just such a scene where the Punisher crashes through the window of a
backroom casino run by the main baddie. He lands on a craps table, grabs one of
the henchmen, tells said henchmen to deliver a message to the boss, then goes
onto destroy the casino with his machine gun.
This film is
wild and crazy and a good time. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it does get
the job done while being a badass 80s film. You owe it to yourself to watch
this film.
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Umbrella Entertainment has given us a nice package in the form of this blu-ray. We get the 3 versions of the film (two are not in the best of shape, but are watchable) and we get some worthwhile extras. The picture and sound are good and the film is cheesy 80s goodness. I would recommend this to anyone that likes action films and/or 80s action films. Definitely worth the money.
 (Umbrella Entertainment) Blu-ray Review + Screenshots){kind=link}
1 Comments
Minor correction: Punisher was the fourth comic book character to receive after Superman, Swamp Thing & Batman.
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