MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEMerry and Pippin
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001744
FILM NOTES
New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, the first installment of Peter Jackson's trilogy adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's novels. Filmed entirely in New Zealand and marketed with an unprecedented promotional campaign, the trailer preceding the film's release became a cultural event in its own right, signaling a new era for fantasy filmmaking on a blockbuster scale. Its success reshaped how studios approached franchise marketing and proved that literary adaptation could command both critical respect and massive commercial reach, setting the stage for the two sequels that followed.
This cell, labeled Merry and Pippin, comes from that early trailer material, though the frames themselves feature Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, the hobbits whose friendship anchors the emotional core of the story. Trailer cells from this campaign are prized by collectors for capturing the introduction of Middle-earth to audiences before the films had fully defined their visual language. Frodo and Sam's bond, central to the Fellowship's journey, made early promotional material featuring them especially sought after, as it previewed the loyalty and endurance that would carry through the entire trilogy.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical trailer release print for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Gauge
35mm; four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even; edges of the perforations appear cleanly punched 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 (two-track) optical stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears neutral to very slightly warm; dye image shows full colour saturation with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or significant scratches are visible; the surface appears consistent with a projected print showing light base-side abrasion.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same title-card composition repeating, showing the text 'The Two Towers' — consistent with a trailer end-card sequence from a Fellowship of the Ring trailer.
Era check
A dual-bilateral optical track on a full-colour positive 35mm print is consistent with a 2001 theatrical release print era for this title.
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 000063604
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
