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This week on the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg welcomes back comic book retailer Paul Eaton to the program to discuss the 1989 Punisher movie.
Based on the Marvel comic book, Punisher begins with Frank Castle as a respected police officer dedicated to eradicating the Mafia’s influence — that is, until the mob responds with a lethal car bomb that decimates Castle’s family. Now, filled with rage and presumed dead from the horrific explosion, Castle takes to the city’s underground sewer tunnels to bring his own brutal brand of vigilante justice to the streets and wreak vengeance on those who killed his family.
Punisher was directed by Mark Goldblatt, written by Boaz Yakin, and stars Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle / The Punisher and Louis Gossett Jr. as Detective Jake Berkowitz.
The film was given a worldwide theatrical release, except in the United States, Sweden, and South Africa on October 5, 1989. It was originally given an August 1989 release in the US, with trailers even created, but was due to New World’s financial difficulties the film was pulled from that date. Eventually the film was sold to Lionsgate (then Live Entertainment) for a direct-to-video release in April 1991. Overall, the film earned $30 million, on a budget of $9 million.
