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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001751 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEPippin and Sam
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001751

FILM NOTES

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring arrived in December 2001 as a gamble few studios would have taken: a three-picture commitment to Tolkien's saga, shot back to back in New Zealand under Peter Jackson's direction. The trailer campaign that preceded it built enormous anticipation, introducing audiences to Middle-earth before the film itself premiered, and remains a landmark in blockbuster marketing for how it balanced spectacle with intimacy. The film's success reshaped fantasy cinema and launched a trilogy now regarded as a benchmark of the genre.

This cell is labeled Pippin and Sam, though the figures identified are Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins, companions whose bond anchors much of the Fellowship's emotional core. Sam, Frodo's steadfast friend and gardener, is among the most collected characters in the franchise for his loyalty and quiet courage. As a trailer cell, it comes from promotional material designed to stir curiosity ahead of release, offering an early glimpse of the fellowship's central relationships before the wider saga unfolds.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm theatrical trailer release print from the Lord of the Rings series.

Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a two-track variable-area stripe.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read key numbers or stock codes; no legible manufacturer text can be confirmed.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image shows saturated colour with no visible fading or red shift.
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 title-card frame repeated, showing the text 'the two towers', consistent with a trailer end card from a Lord of the Rings release.
Era check
A variable-area optical soundtrack and colour positive stock are consistent with a 35mm theatrical trailer 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 000063611
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