CrownGrading Pro
Crown Portal
Submit cards Submissions Start your submissions Submission walkthrough Grading process Pre-Grade estimator Film authentication Programs Crown Ascension Crown Royal Tier Resources About Crown CrownStandard Knowledge Center CrownVault Contact Crown Portal
Ready to grade your cards? Submit Cards →
Crown Grading

National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001733 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEGandalf
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001733

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, the opening chapter of Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy, filmed entirely in New Zealand across a single, massive production. Its trailer campaign was a cultural event in its own right, building anticipation for a fantasy epic that would go on to reshape blockbuster filmmaking, win multiple Academy Awards across the series, and prove that literary fantasy could command mainstream box office on an enormous scale. The teaser and theatrical trailers introduced audiences to Middle-earth well before the film's release.

This cell preserves a moment of Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, drawn from that trailer material. Gandalf stands among the most sought-after figures in Tolkien collecting, the wandering wizard whose counsel sets the entire quest in motion. Trailer cells hold a particular appeal for collectors, capturing the introductory glimpses that shaped public expectation of the saga before the full film existed. Owning a piece of that promotional reel connects a collection directly to the marketing history surrounding the trilogy's arrival.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer (2001)

Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, and a DTS timecode stripe is also discernible, consistent with a tri-format optical release print
Edge print
Edge text reads reversed as 'ENTICOLOR' (mirrored), consistent with an emulsion-up orientation; no key numbers are legible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows rich, saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a theatrical release print of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring trailer
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, and ENTICOLOR stock labelling is consistent with a 2001-era theatrical release print
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 000063593
Original Film Capture As received
The film strip as photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size