Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Universal released The Fast and the Furious in 2001, a modestly budgeted actioner that became a sleeper hit and launched one of modern cinema's most durable franchises. Built around underground street racing culture, it introduced audiences to a world of imports, nitrous, and heists that would eventually grow into a global blockbuster series. For collectors of early 2000s studio output, this film marks a genuine turning point, the moment a niche subculture film proved it could anchor a mainstream franchise.
This cell preserves the opening card that announces the film itself, the frame where the name appears before any character or scene unfolds. Such cards are prized by collectors precisely because they mark origin, the first physical instant a viewer encounters the production's identity on screen. As a piece of 35mm stock, it represents the literal beginning of the theatrical experience, a keepsake tied to the franchise's earliest moment.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Fast and the Furious (2001).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a dual bilateral variable-area pattern; a separate digital timecode or data line is also visible as a dotted blue line adjacent to the optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint consistent with a modern polyester safety base; the dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; the three frames run consecutively as a single title-card shot and display the title logo matching the film on record.
Era check
The dual bilateral variable-area optical track combined with a digital timecode line and polyester base is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2001 release date on record.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000062900
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
