MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEGimli, Frodo, Merry and Pippin
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001754
FILM NOTES
New Line Cinema released The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, adapting Tolkien for the screen at a scale no prior fantasy production had attempted. Directed by Peter Jackson and shot across New Zealand, the film became a cultural landmark, launching a trilogy that reshaped blockbuster filmmaking and brought Middle-earth to a mainstream audience. Its promotional trailer campaign was itself a major event, building anticipation through carefully cut footage that introduced the Fellowship's core members to millions before the film's release.
This 35mm trailer cell gathers four members of that Fellowship: Gimli, the dwarf warrior played by John Rhys-Davies, alongside three of the four hobbits, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin, portrayed by Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd. These characters anchor much of the story's emotional and comic weight, making their pairing a natural draw for collectors. As a piece of trailer material, the cell represents the earliest public framing of the ensemble, a promotional artifact from the campaign that introduced this now-iconic company to the world.
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 holes appear cleanly cut with rounded corners.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a narrow light-modulated stripe.
Edge print
Partial text visible at the upper-left edge reading 'CF' followed by additional characters not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a light blue-cyan tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image reads as warm and saturated with no visible fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is 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 consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release trailer print for the film on record.
Era check
The variable-area optical track, cyan-tinted colour print base, and perforation style 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 000063614
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
