MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEGimli, Frodo, Merry and Pippin
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001752
FILM NOTES
New Line Cinema released The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, launching Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy at a scale few studios had risked before. Shot across New Zealand over more than a year, the production reset expectations for fantasy filmmaking, blending practical craftsmanship with emerging digital technique. The trailer that preceded it became a cultural event in its own right, introducing audiences to Middle-earth's ensemble before the film's premiere and building anticipation that carried into a defining run at the box office.
This cell preserves a promotional frame naming four members of the Fellowship: Gimli, Frodo Baggins, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took, portrayed respectively by John Rhys-Davies, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd. Trailer cells like this one served to introduce these characters to a global audience ahead of release, pairing the steadfast dwarf with the ring-bearer and the two hobbits whose friendship anchors much of the story's warmth. Collectors value such pieces for capturing an early marketing moment, a fragment of the campaign that first shaped public recognition of these enduring characters.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm colour release print of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring trailer.
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 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 two-track variable-area stripe.
Edge print
Text reading 'ENIICOLOG' (mirrored, consistent with emulsion-up presentation) is visible along the upper edge; no key numbers are legible in this capture.
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 longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release trailer print for the film on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical soundtrack, colour positive stock, and base appearance are all consistent with a 35mm 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 000063612
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
