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 trilogies in Hollywood history. The promotional trailer introduced audiences worldwide to Middle-earth months before the film's theatrical run, making trailer footage from this period a distinct artifact of early 2000s cinema marketing.

This cell, titled Gimli, Frodo, Merry and Pippin by the operator, captures Frodo Baggins and Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck portrayed by Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan respectively, standing in heavy dark cloaks against a snow-covered mountain setting consistent with the treacherous Pass of Caradhras. Three consecutive frames from the same scene are preserved on the strip, one of which appears rotated on the original 35mm material.