THE PUNISHER (Mark Goldblatt, 1989)

[dude hallenbeck]

I've only seen the first episode, they're treating him very much like Michael Myers/Jason Voorhees.

[Jox]

I've only seen the first episode, they're treating him very much like Michael Myers/Jason Voorhees.

That's interesting you should say that because when Mark Goldblatt was first offered THE PUNISHER and read Boaz Yakin's original script, the editor/director turned it down because he thought it was too much of a slasher and compared the character to Jason.
(Then another director was attached for a little while, left, and Goldblatt finally took the job when Yakin was let go and Robert Kamen was to rewrite the script. Too be fair having read the two drafts, they're not that different)

[thegoon4eto]

What's the reception of the Punisher and Jon Bernthal in the "Daredevil" series ?
Is it close to the Frank Miller comics and Steven Grant/Mike Zeck's stuff ?

Binge-watched the season. Jon is amazing at the role.
The first full-on screen scene of him, is in a Terminator mode. Like in T1 when Arnie is in the police station and just walking and nothing can stop him. Punisher's first scene is something like that. I got a similar vibe from it.

[dude hallenbeck]

I've only seen the first episode, they're treating him very much like Michael Myers/Jason Voorhees.

That's interesting you should say that because when Mark Goldblatt was first offered THE PUNISHER and read Boaz Yakin's original script, the editor/director turned it down because he thought it was too much of a slasher and compared the character to Jason.
(Then another director was attached for a little while, left, and Goldblatt finally took the job when Yakin was let go and Robert Kamen was to rewrite the script. Too be fair having read the two drafts, they're not that different)

He has an amazing monologue about returning home from service and surprising his daughter at school, and then detailing the tragic events that drove him to become the Punisher. I really wish I could've seen Dolph's take on it.

[GeneralMcFaiL]

J Bernthal did a phenomenal acting job as the punisher... but my problem with the casting as has been the case for the last several adaptations is that they haven't got the physical likeness of Frank since Dolph was in the role. It is distracting watching a guy who is 5"11" try to look intimidating to the audience when just about everyone else on screen is taller or the same height as him.

It's the same problem I have with Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher.

[Jox]

but my problem with the casting as has been the case for the last several adaptations is that they haven't got the physical likeness of Frank since Dolph was in the role.

People really seem to have drastically opposite opinions about Frank Castle's physical appearance, as I read some who say Bernthal totally looks the part (probably the same dissing on Dolph's as the Punisher). Most people nowadays are also more likely to be influenced by the newer comic books of the late 1990s and 2000s (Garth Ennis etc), whereas in 1988-89 you only had the Steven Grant/Mike Zeck series ("Circle of Blood" and "Return to Big Nothing" which got out around the movie German/French releases), the Mike Baron regular comics and the War Journal really...

[GeneralMcFaiL]

You can definitely debate from the neck up whether Bernthal looks like Frank or not... but the punisher has always been a rather large guy in the comics. Bernthal's height was a problem for me throughout the 2nd season of DD.

[Jox]

Kim Maree-Penn, the double for Lady Tanaka's daughter and Shotokan karate champion in the Hong-Kong flick FUN & FURY (1992).






Penn was also seen in ARMAGEDDON (1997) with Jackie Chan and Tsui Hark's KNOCK OFF (1998) with JCVD, as well as other films starring HK stars Cynthia Khan, Simon Yam, Michelle Yeoh, Frankie Chan etc. She's now running a bodyguard and security company.

[Jox]

Word is that Umbrella Entertainment will put out a release in Australia.

Not sure they actually put out a Blu-ray:



http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/movies/25 ... r-the.html

[Jox]

35mm screening (dubbed) in Thionville, France on May 20th
http://www.scala-thionville.fr/files/PR ... 202016.pdf

[Jox]

What's the reception of the Punisher and Jon Bernthal in the "Daredevil" series ?
Is it close to the Frank Miller comics and Steven Grant/Mike Zeck's stuff ?

Now getting his own PUNISHER series from Netflix
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/29/pu ... el-netflix

[Jox]

What's the reception of the Punisher and Jon Bernthal in the "Daredevil" series ?
Is it close to the Frank Miller comics and Steven Grant/Mike Zeck's stuff ?

Now getting his own PUNISHER series from Netflix
http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/29/pu ... el-netflix
http://marvel.com/news/tv/26104/netflix ... d=23992377

[Jox]

The Gratuitous B-Movie Column: The Punisher
http://411mania.com/movies/the-gratuito ... -punisher/

The recent French Blu-ray/DVD release was received with open arms and the film really got rehabilitated (Blu-ray limited at 1000 units sold out):
http://www.arte.tv/sites/olivierpere/20 ... goldblatt/
http://www.freneticarts.com/rdvd/critique.php?ID=3492
http://www.lequotidienducinema.com/blog ... h-lundgren
http://blog.dvdpascher.net/index.php/b/ ... a_critique
http://www.toxiccrypt.fr/?p=8118
http://www.xn--rtroviseur-b7a.com/?p=1168
http://www.sueursfroides.fr/critique/the-punisher-3224
http://www.devildead.com/indexfilm.php3?FilmID=2763
http://www.psychovision.net/films/dvd-p ... id=1361741
http://www.annees-laser.com/critique/bl ... print.html
http://www.blurayenfrancais.com/blu-ray ... u-ray.html

[Jox]

Koch Media will re-release their special edition in a steelbook comprising of the Blu-ray with all the extras (commentary, gag reel, extensive gallery, trailer) and a DVD of Goldblatt's workprint version.
http://www.kochmedia-film.de/blu-ray/de ... und_1_dvd/
http://www.bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-filme ... u-ray-disc



Street date: August 25th
(since the movie no longer "indexed" in Germany, it should be more easily available on Amazon)

EDIT:
http://www.amazon.de/Punisher-Steelbook ... h+lundgren

[Jox]

Here are two clips I posted on another forum for comparison of the sound on the Japanese Laserdisc and the German uncut DVD/Blu-ray from Koch Media.

The first (like most releases of the film even on Blu-ray) sounds to me like Mono on two channels, while the second one sounds like the proper stereo/surround mix (Goldblatt confirmed to me it was a four tracks stereo mix)

Put on your headphones and hear the difference:






PS:
This whole ending, its ethereal, melancholic musical score by Dennis Dreith, and Gossett shouting his lungs and tears out on top of the building is so great...

Goldblatt says in his commentary maybe it was a mistake commercially, I don't know but it sure is better and more tasty and anything else, especially in B action movies (that back then were either more "heroic", tongue in cheek or even patriotic, and this where THE PUNISHER was so apart, not mentioning its demented, neurotic antihero lead character)