National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING

AUTHENTIC

CROWN CERTIFIED

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MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer

SCENELegolas and Gimli

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2001

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001735

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema brought Middle-earth to theaters in December 2001 with The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of Peter Jackson's landmark trilogy adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's novels. Shot in New Zealand with then-groundbreaking practical effects and location work, the film reshaped what fantasy epics could achieve on screen and set a new benchmark for adaptation, scale, and studio ambition in the genre. Its trailers, released ahead of the premiere, became cultural events in their own right, building anticipation for a saga that would go on to dominate award ceremonies and box office records alike.

This piece preserves a moment from that promotional campaign, pairing Legolas and Gimli, two members of the Fellowship whose contrasting backgrounds as Elf and Dwarf carry centuries of inherited rivalry into their shared quest. Collectors seek these characters for the tension and eventual camaraderie their pairing represents, a dynamic central to the story's emotional architecture. A trailer cell like this one captures an early public glimpse of the Fellowship's makeup, offered to audiences before the film's release as a promise of the ensemble and stakes to come.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm Dolby Digital theatrical trailer print of The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).

Gauge: 35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations: Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack: A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical print; Dolby Digital pixel blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital SR·D composite track.
Edge print: Text reading 'THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING' and 'CHRISTMAS 2001' is printed across the picture area as title-card text; edge print along the strip margins is not legible at this resolution.
Base & colour: Base appears with a warm-neutral tint; dye image shows saturated colour with no obvious red shift or fading visible.
Projection history: No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture: Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the title text 'THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING / CHRISTMAS 2001' matches the trailer release on record.
Era check: The composite Dolby Digital SR·D optical track layout and the colour positive stock are consistent with a 35mm theatrical trailer release print from 2001.

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 000063595

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