THE PUNISHER (Mark Goldblatt, 1989)

[Jox]

Zavvi will apparently release an exclusive steelbook (limited to 3000 copies) on February 22, 2015
(not sold out, just not on pre-order yet)
http://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-punish ... 42909.html
http://www.dvd-forum.at/news-details/47 ... -steelbook

[Jox]

Ugly, and disappointing they're not trying to stay true to the film and vintage artwork/visual identity, this looks like it was made for one of the other Punisher movies...

[Jox]

35mm screening in the city of Nantes (western France) at "L'Absurde Séance", double-billed with Norris' LONE WOLF McQUADE.

[bomaz]

Gosh ... so close and so far at the same time

[Jox]

I'll try to make it, maybe I'll even get to speak...

[bomaz]

When is it ? (i'm tight on cash, but i might make the trip if i only have to drive and miss the norris thingy ^^)

[Jox]

Sorry I forgot to post the date and the link! It's January 15th.
http://www.syfantasy.fr/19808-Le_Katorz ... ces__venir

[Jox]

Zavvi will apparently release an exclusive steelbook (limited to 3000 copies) on February 22, 2015
(not sold out, just not on pre-order yet)
http://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-punish ... 42909.html
http://www.dvd-forum.at/news-details/47 ... -steelbook

[Jox]

A new French edition is in the works at the label The Ecstasy of Films. Seems like it could be another collector's edition like the German one but nothing is set yet...

[bomaz]

Well well well ... the distributor seems to be truly fans, so that could be good

[Jox]

Trivia:
Mark Goldblatt made his Hitchcockian cameo, in the airport sequence of the deleted prologue (when Dolph/Castle runs through security).

[Jox]

One of the Punisher's creator and comic legend Gerry Conway:

Were you a fan of any of the Punisher movies?

“I’m happy and proud to say that I’ve seen none of them [laughs] and that’s because of a personal issue that I have with Marvel over the fact that they’ve never credited me over the character, or made even the slightest attempt to try and give me some recompense for it. I just refuse add my dollar to their money [laughs] it made the difference to me, I doubt it made a difference to anyone else!”

http://www.scifinow.co.uk/interviews/th ... %E2%80%9D/

He has more than I do:

http://robotgeekscultcinema.blogspot.fr ... s-far.html

[Jox]

Recorevered a link for the production screenplay by producer Robert Mark Kamen:
http://www.cinefile.biz/script/vendicatore.pdf
(Kamen wrote TAPS, THE KARATE KID trilogy and all the Luc Bessons since THE 5TH ELEMENT):

It says "first draft" but it's actually a rewrite of the script originally wriiten by Boaz Yakin who ended up getting sole on-screen credit for it. What Kamen essentially did was to add the big prologue with Castle trying to bust Moretti and Franco, his family life etc. All of which they shot but soon cut from the film in the editing room to come back to Yakin's initial structure using flashbacks.



I take this opportunity to repost Yakin's 1989 angry open letter that was published in Comics Scene magazine about what was made to his script and certain decisions:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1112&start=150#p19985
(Yakin also wrote THE ROOKIE and became a filmmaker in his own right: FRESH, REMEMBER THE TITANS, SAFE)



And as an aside, here are some comments from THE EXECUTIONER novels author Don Pendleton on THE PUNISHER (the comic character):

“Let’s just say The Punisher has taken a lot of liberties with my work. Anyone who knows the history of The Executioner has known that all along. I elected many years ago to just let it pass, feeling that there is room for both of us in this industry. Of course, new Executioner readers may get the impression that I have “borrowed” from The Punisher, but let me set the record straight: War Against the Mafia debuted in 1968, and has been a flagship of action/adventure in all mediums throughout these years. Sad to say, my own publisher at Pinnacle began the trend, firing off invitations to various writers with copies of my books and stating that he would be interested in considering similar stories for his publication. The way this business works, practically every other major publisher jumped on the bandwagon. Of course, I have no bitterness or sense of loss from any of that; it is the highest form of complement for a writer to become a standard-bearer, and certainly The Executioner has remained in that special place all these years, and worldwide.”

James Eisele had asked, “They weren’t taking stories that you had written?”

Pendleton continued, “No, not exactly chapter and verse, but The Punisher took alot of what I consider “signature pieces” including Bolan’s War Journal, the War Wagon, and various situations which The Punisher incorporated. I created the high tech War Wagon in 1973, after using a much simpler version in previous books.

http://www.donpendleton.com/executionerwarwagon.htm

[Jox]

A new French edition is in the works at the label The Ecstasy of Films. Seems like it could be another collector's edition like the German one but nothing is set yet...

Well well well ... the distributor seems to be truly fans, so that could be good

Well the exact content is yet to be determined/confirmed but it's definitely going to be a deluxe/collector's edition...

[Jox]

Netherlands VHS