The Punisher (1989 film)
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| The Punisher | |
|---|---|
 Region 1 DVD cover for The Punisher |
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| Directed by | Mark Goldblatt |
| Produced by | Robert Guralnick Simon Heath Mace Neufeld |
| Written by | Robert Mark Kamen Boaz Yakin |
| Starring | Dolph Lundgren Louis Gossett, Jr. Kim Miyori |
| Music by | Dennis Dreith |
| Cinematography | Ian Baker |
| Editing by | Stephanie Flack Tim Wellburn |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Country |  United States Australia |
| Budget | $9,000,000[citation needed] |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Punisher is a 1989 movie, starring Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle, directed by Mark Goldblatt from a screenplay by Boaz Yakin. It is based on the Marvel Comics' character The Punisher.
It was filmed in Sydney, Australia and also featured Louis Gossett, Jr., Jeroen Krabbé, Kim Miyori, Nancy Everhard and Barry Otto.
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[edit] Plot
Five years after his family was murdered in a mob hit, police officer Frank Castle, who was believed dead, has become a vigilante known as "The Punisher." Living in the sewers and waging a one-man war against organized crime, his only friend is an old alcoholic named Shake. Meanwhile, the Mafia, headed by Gianni Franco, begins a violent turf war with the Yakuza, led by Lady Tanaka. The Yakuza kidnaps the Mafia's children and holds them for ransom in order to bring the American underworld under their control.
Shake pleads with the Punisher to save the children, who are likely to be sold into childhood slavery no matter what their criminal parents do. While he is able to save most of the children, 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 Japanese criminal underworld from taking root in America.
Franco and the Punisher raid the Yakuza headquarters, fight and kill all the thugs and ninjas, including Lady Tanaka (In real life, the Japanese Yakuza do not have women in their organization or have women as bosses. They also do not dress up in Ninja outfits). Upon being reunited with his son, Franco betrays the Punisher in an effort to kill him, but the Punisher wins the duel, kills Franco and vanishes from the scene, as the police arrive, warning Franco's son not to follow the sins of his father.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Dolph Lundgren | Frank Castle / The Punisher |
| Louis Gossett, Jr. | Jake Berkowitz |
| Jeroen Krabbé | Gianni Franco |
| Kim Miyori | Lady Tanaka |
| Bryan Marshall | Dino Moretti |
| Nancy Everhard | Sam Leary |
| Barry Otto | Shake |
| Brian Rooney | Tommy Franco |
| Zoshka Mizak | Tanaka's Daughter |
| Larry McCormick | TV Newsreader |
| Kenji Yamaki | Sato |
| Todd Boyce | Terrone |
| Hirofumi Kanayama | Tomio |
| Lani John Tupu | Laccone |
| John Negroponte | Musso |
[edit] Soundtrack
A full orchestral score was composed and conducted by Dennis Dreith at the Warner Bros. soundstage in Burbank, California. A CD of the soundtrack was not released until 2005. The CD includes several interviews with the director and the composer, as well as the complete multi-track stereo recording. The DVD release only contains a monaural (single track) soundtrack.
In the song "Punishment" by the band Biohazard a quote from this film is heard in the intro.
[edit] Differences between the comics and the film
- The film changes many details of the comic book origin (see below) and the main character does not wear the trademark "skull."
- In the comic book, Castle's wife was named Maria; they had a son named Frank Junior and a daughter named Lisa. Maria, Frank Jr. and Lisa were all killed by gunfire after witnessing the execution of an informant. In the film, Frank's wife was named Julie, they had two daughters, Annie and Felice. Julie, Felice and Annie were all killed in a car bomb explosion meant for Castle.
- In the comic book, Frank Castle was a former U.S. Marine captain. In the movie, he is a police detective.
[edit] External links
- The Punisher on Marvel.com
- The Punisher (1989) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Punisher Movies hype at Superhero Hype!
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