National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema released Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel in December 2001, launching one of the most ambitious fantasy productions in Hollywood history. Shot entirely in New Zealand, the film earned thirteen Academy Award nominations and redefined what large-scale ensemble filmmaking could achieve, establishing a new benchmark for the genre across the following decade.

This cell, titled Gimli, Frodo, Merry and Pippin, captures three successive frames from the Caradhras mountain pass sequence. John Rhys-Davies as Gimli, Dominic Monaghan as Merry, and Billy Boyd as Pippin are prominently visible among the huddled Fellowship, with Elijah Wood as Frodo and Sean Astin as Samwise present across the frames. The slight progression between images preserves a quiet, arduous moment from one of the film's most visually striking locations.