MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEGandalf, Legolas and Gimli
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001766
FILM NOTES
New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, adapting the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy under Peter Jackson's direction. Filmed entirely in New Zealand, the production reshaped modern fantasy filmmaking through its scale, practical craftsmanship, and digital innovation. The teaser and theatrical trailers that preceded release became cultural events in their own right, introducing audiences to Middle-earth's cast and tone months before the film itself arrived, building anticipation for what would become an era-defining franchise.
This cell preserves a moment from that promotional material featuring Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli, three of the Fellowship's most enduring members. Gandalf represents wisdom and guidance, Legolas embodies elven grace, and Gimli carries the weight of dwarven history and humor. Trailer cells like this one hold particular value for collectors because they capture the film's earliest public presentation, a curated glimpse meant to establish character and stakes before the full narrative unfolds. Owning a piece of that introductory footage means holding a fragment of the moment audiences first met these figures on their journey.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical 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 with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, with what appears to be a secondary track or Dolby noise-reduction encoding present; a dotted timecode line consistent with DTS is also visible in the same region.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote alphanumeric key numbers or manufacturer text with certainty.
Base & colour
The base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image colours appear saturated and not visibly faded or red-shifted.
Projection history
Light horizontal scratching is visible in the soundtrack area; no splice or cue marks are seen on the picture area.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and carry title text consistent with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring trailer.
Era check
The combination of a variable-area optical track with a DTS timecode stripe and Dolby-encoded dual-track layout is consistent with a 2001-era 35mm theatrical release print.
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 000063626
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
