The Punisher (1989) [DVD]

When TOM JANE'S PUNISHER was first released on DVD back in 2005 Dolph Lundgren's version was also re-issued on DVD by the U.S. Distributor the same year to promote the new remake with Tom Jane they are both Different versions of the Comic book Hero so it's up to personal preference of which version is the better version i like both versions myself i think they are equally as Good Dolph Lundgren's version has different storyline to the Tom Jane version which is interesting, Dolph Lundgren's version involves the Japanese mafia taking over the American mafia with the Punisher right in the middle of it which most of the plot But this is about Dolph Lundgren's version only the Theatrical version has been officially released on DVD by the U.S. Distributor and on blu-ray years later by Anchor bay U.K. which again only has the Theatrical version with no extras of course which is an excellent version goes for about 85mins tons of action and violence but lacks storyline and plot There is also a Workprint version of Dolph Lundgren's version which has only been released officially by German DVD Distributor Starlightfilm/XT Video released in 2005 to promote the Tom Jane remake in my opinion this workprint version is much much better than the Theatrical version it's an extended cut version with about 8mins of extra scenes runtime about 95mins this extended cut tells the story more thoroughly about Frank castle's family and their Death by one of the Mafia family's the extra scenes also extend Lundgren's performance as the Punisher and how Frank castle became the Punisher when the Theatrical version does not have the backstory brilliant performance by Dolph Lundren who Portrays the Punisher as a Psychotic cop hell bent on killing criminals Dolph Lundgren plays the Punisher broken down and burnt out on a murderous rampage that couldn't care about the Justice system very sad and tragic actually Kim Miyori who plays Lady Tanaka gives incredible amazing performance as the lead Japanese mafia she should've won an academy award her performance is that Good this extended version UNRATED version has more violence and killing scenes than the Theatrical version this extended cut is in Full screen only and has been Digitally remastered with 5.1 stereo sound so it's definitely watchable, sounds Good and Looks Good, not fantastic but Good this version has only been released on DVD once by German dvd Distributor Starlightfilms/XT Video back in 2005 and has not been re-issued since, i Don't know who holds the rights to this workprint version but the XT video dvd release is the only way to watch it very very rare now 9 years later, i was very lucky to get myself a copy about 4 years ago there is a listing for it on amazon.com but no sellers Amazon.de is the only website you can still buy it but very expensive now. but definitely worth the cash if you can get a copy

Long ago in a far away land, long before the coming of the Marvel Epic, there was a rough and ready merc who appeared often as a guest character in Spider-Man and other books who got a film. The folks who read the book knew him right off the bat! The Punisher was coming to the big screen! They got a Hollywood Tough Guy, best known for his role ad Drago from the Rocky Movies, and put him in the roll of the gritty, take no prisoners merc. All told the body count was 91 people. The movie was gritty, dark, noir-esque. People, by and large, stayed away from the movie. He wasn't a loveable character like TV's Spider-Man, or Wonder Woman, not shiny/squeaky clean like Superman. He was a take no prisoners, deliver no one liners kinda guy. The thing that made him an outcast in the Marvel Universe and a HIT with it's readers made the viewing public uncomfortable. Much the same way those who came after him were (see also "The Punisher" starring Thomas Jane and "Punisher War Journal" with Ray Stevenson). This is not a superhero movie for kids. In fact, in this case, superhero is a bit of a misnomer, as The Punisher is just a really dedicated angry man, a Vietnam Vet fighting a war on crime to avenge his family... but he knows what most who seek to get revenge don't: That once you've made revenge your life's work and achieved revenge against those who wronged you (in this case killed your family), you are left with nothing but emptiness. The Punisher understands this, so he continues. Revenge is replaced by the mission, and the object of the mission is to wipe out crime so that no one else will suffer the fate of his family. Latter portrayals have cast the Punisher as a more and less fleshed out personality, Jane's was by far the most likeable of the actors who have taken on the role, Stevenson was by far the most taciturn in his portrayal, like an entity or spirit of revenge. Dolph Lundgren's performance strikes the balance between the two, portraying the anti-hero as both strong and at odd moments spiritual. Perhaps the greatest complaint was the absence of the trademark Skull Logo on The Punisher's chest. Less egregious, the absence of the Marvel convention of "mercy bullets" as referenced in a Marvel Team Up with the Punisher and Spider Man. The fact is, The Punisher will probably never gain the wide following of the rock stars of the Marvel Universe such as Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers. The bright shining lights of the Marvelverse cast a wide shadow, and that is where The Punisher resides. With the obsession of his DC counterpart, Batman, but without the fancy toys, The Punisher will forever occupy the dark and gritty alleyways while Iron Man soars high above, and that's all right. There is as much room in the spectrum for Film Noir as there is for the Musical. The first Punisher film is not the glitzy joyful romp of the recent spate of Marvel Studios films, but neither is it the abomination of the Sci Fi Channel's "Nick Fury," the rather goofy "Fantastic Four" films, or the earnest but over pronounced Daredevil. This isn't one you'll want to watch with the kids, but the teens might appreciate it. If you're a fan of the comic film canon, this film is a MUST have to add to your collection.

My 1st introduction to the punisher, besides comics, and Spider-Man the Animated Series, and probably my 3rd movie I've seen with Dolph Lundgren. I bought this for the nostalgia, I have not been keeping up with Frank Castle in the MCU, and I probably won't. I do look forward to seeing him in Brand New Day, considering he first appeared in Spider-Man comics. I once owned a Punisher video game also, which was really good, maybe Insomniac Games will make a new one (crosses fingers.) I also like Thomas Jane's punisher movie, especially the soundtrack, the latest film is very violent and gory imo. The artwork is different from the one listed, I don't believe my copy has the uncut version included, and this movie isn't available on streaming platforms, or Blu-ray, so I decided to buy the DVD. Can't say I recommend it, without watching it, but if you're a fan of the Punisher, and like Dolph Lundgren, give it a watch!

● DVD 📀 looks & sounds great. Decent transfer. ▪︎ All the disc specifications including art, extras and special features are exactly as listed. 🎬 🎞 🎥 🎦 📽 🎟 🎬 When Frank Castle's family is murdered by criminals, he wages war on crime including the yakuza & mafia as a vigilante assassin known only as The Punisher.

The Punisher (1989) is a film that, like a lot of other early Marvel films of the late 80's and early 90's, is low budget, however, unlike those, this one is actually pretty good. It gets a bad rap because it is low budget and Dolph Lungren is often seen as a bad actor. But again, this is pretty good. It comes off as a brutal 70's cop film and if it wasn't called THE PUNISHER and if the name wasn't mentioned in the film several times, it would be just another Clint Eastwood/Charles Bronson-esque hardcore cop ripoff. Many people claim this is the best adaptation of The Punisher ever put to film. That may be true as Dolph Lungren's portrayal is a lot like the Punisher of the 80's comics, stoic, cold and unrelenting in his vengeance. Dolph plays the character with very little heart which is what The Punisher was in the 80's. Many people say that Dolph Lungren is a flat or wooden actor. If this is true, it works here. He doesn't say much and often appears with a glassy eyed, depressed gaze that makes you desperate to know what he is thinking. He is The Punisher of the 80's comics, the way that Christopher Reeve was the Superman of the 70's and 80's comics. One other thing that we get to see here that other Punisher movies don't offer is The Punisher's obsession with knives. He carries knives on him and his former partner, Jake, actually confiscated a knife (as well as several hundred round casings) from The Punisher's brutal war on crime. The film opens with a news report, giving expository background on mafia tough guy who was recently acquitted of the crime of killing detective Frank Castle and his family five years earlier. The report also speaks of an elusive character dubbed the Punisher, who has been killing members of the mafia over the last five years, racking up an impressive body count. So, the mafia guy, returns home to celebrate, with The Punisher crashing the party and killing a bunch of bad guys and blowing up their mansion. Enter Detective Jake Berkowitz (Louis Gossett Jr.) Detective Berkowitz has been leading the Punisher Task Force for the last five years, and believes the Punisher is actually Frank Castle, despite his superior's beliefs that Castle is dead, as the thought of a rogue cop going around killing people would be unpopular. With the recent death of this mafia boss, there's a void of real leadership in the organization, one filled with the return of Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbé who was a James Bond villain in THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS) from Europe, who intends to unite the remains of the various mob families. The decimation of the mafia families hasn't gone unnoticed, as the Yakuza (Japanese mafia) has decided to move in and take a controlling interest in criminal activities within the city. To do this, the Yakuza kidnaps children of the remaining mafia families in an effort to extort control and pressure them under the Yakuza's thumb. So The Punisher, feeling somewhat responsible as his five-year vendetta has left the families unable to protect even their own children, begins dealing with the Yakuza, which eventually leads to an unlikely alliance with Franco, who's son is one of the kidnapped children. So, the Punisher, on a reluctant team-up with Gianni Franco, goes after the Yazuka. Once the children are safe and the majority of the Yazuka "punished," The Punisher kills Franco in front of his son and tells his son, "you are a good kid, let's hope you grow up to be a good man or I'll be waiting." As a movie, this could have been a lot better. As a Punisher film, it works, although it certainly would have benefited from better writing and a bigger budget, however Gosset Jr. is convincing as a cop, Lungren certainly pulls of role of The Punisher very well and all other characters range from mediocre to great. 4 out of 5 stars.

First punisher movie. Action packed. A classic.

Nice to rewatch, plays good in my Blu-ray player

Media Specs: Don't waste your time or money buying this movie if you live in the US. Region 0 / A readers won't play this disc. Just get the DVD edition which will do as far as HD conversion on a decent way. Deep discount dvd's marketplace gave me a hard time refunding the money from this disc which they are still offering even though it doesn't play on American Standard equipment. It's a fraud, don't buy unless you have the necessary equipment or decoding for it. As far as the movie goes: This movie is the best version out there of The Punisher. Believe it or not, Dolph Lundgren did a hell of a job on his character. Since Dolph's all about body count, Lou Goseph Jr. really balances out the acting and plot parts of this movie. While Tom Jane did alright on the modern version and war zone was really that, this one really portraits the true dark nature of Frank Castle and the demons and criminals he swore to fight after events in his life.

Buena película para los que nos gustó en su época solo recalcar que es un blu ray R es decir regrabable ,pero en España no existe en otro formato HD así que si la quieres es lo que hay

Film du Punisher avec Dolph Lundgren. Le premier de la franchise. Très bon.

Brilliant movie. Also, I think this is one of at least, if not THE best ever Punisher movies. In a ways unlike the others, it remains true in its own and very effectively to all the written stories of the Punisher without messing up in ways. All the other ones only match up, I find as an appreciator of good quality action, so much until they all become dragged out in turn. Their faithfulness to all the action stories of the Punisher, I find would only live up necessarily as much as this version does. I will say in truth that the other Punisher movies have all the flair of modern action movies but no matter what so far, its hard to find an action film nowadays that is ever as good as how it used to be. This is one of the things I find in watching older action movies, particularly this one, because I love the Punisher genre of reading and film and this is one of the versions of the Punisher story on screen and which just does do what its supposed to in living up to its name.

Es buena pero no trae subtitulos de ningún idioma, solo para que lo tomen en cuenta.

No trae subtítulos como menciona en la información, fuera de eso bien No trae subtítulos como menciona en la información, fuera de eso bien