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

SCENEPippin

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2001

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001748

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 J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy. Shot entirely in New Zealand and released at a scale rarely attempted for fantasy cinema at the time, the film reintroduced Middle-earth to a mainstream audience and set the template for the blockbuster franchise filmmaking that followed. Its trailers were a significant part of that cultural rollout, building anticipation across a full year before release and giving audiences their first glimpses of the Shire, the Fellowship, and the journey ahead.

This cell carries the name Pippin, one of the four hobbits whose friendship anchors the story's emotional core, a character prized by collectors for his role in the ensemble and his later arc across the trilogy. Frodo Baggins appears here as well, placing this moment within the early gathering of companions central to the Fellowship's formation. As a trailer cell, it belongs to the promotional material designed to introduce these characters and their bond to audiences ahead of the film's theatrical debut, a keepsake from the campaign that launched the saga.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm theatrical trailer release print for The Lord of the Rings.

Gauge: 35mm; the strip holds three frames, each with four perforations visible on both edges.
Perforations: Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack: A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track analogue stripe; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print: The edge reads 'ENNICOLOR' (mirrored as printed); no key numbers are legible in this capture.
Base & colour: The base shows a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears warm and well-saturated with no visible fading.
Projection history: Light horizontal abrasion 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 the same or near-identical moment from one continuous shot; the title text 'The Two Towers' is visible on each frame, consistent with a trailer title card for the sequel, which is normal on a Fellowship of the Ring trailer strip.
Era check: The combination of Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area analogue optical track, the cyan-base colour stock, and the 'ENNICOLOR' edge print are all consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s.

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 000063608

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