National Film Vault

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema released Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, launching one of the most ambitious fantasy film series ever committed to celluloid. The theatrical trailer circulated widely ahead of the film's release, building anticipation that proved entirely justified when the picture went on to become both a critical and commercial landmark of early twenty-first century cinema.

This cell, titled Pippin and Sam by the operator, presents three duplicate frames drawn from the trailer's footage of Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins set against a rugged mountain landscape. The title text reading The Two Towers is visible within the frame, making this a quietly notable piece of promotional material that gestures toward the trilogy's larger scope.