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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001771 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEThe Lord of the Rings Title Card
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001771

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema's release of The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001 marked the arrival of a trilogy that reshaped what fantasy filmmaking could achieve on a studio budget. Directed by Peter Jackson and shot across New Zealand, the production carried enormous risk for New Line, betting the company's future on Tolkien's world. The trailer campaign that preceded the film's release became a cultural event in its own right, building anticipation across a full year and helping establish the franchise as a cinematic landmark before a single ticket was sold.

This cell preserves a piece of that early promotional material, the card announcing the series name itself. Such cards function as the trailer's opening signature, the moment audiences first register the scale of what they are about to enter. For collectors, this piece holds value as a marker of the campaign's genesis, a fragment tied not to a scene or a performer but to the branding of the saga at its earliest public stage.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm positive release print of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer (2001)

Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame 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
Not visible in this capture
Edge print
Not visible in this capture
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a neutral to very slightly warm tint; dye image renders in deep black and saturated gold, consistent with an intact colour dye set
Projection history
No scratches, splice marks or cue marks are visible in this capture
Picture
Positive image; all three frames carry the same title-card composition, consistent with a trailer title hold rather than a continuous action shot, and the title lettering matches the Lord of the Rings franchise branding on record
Era check
The clear safety base, standard four-perforation 35mm layout, and positive title-card frames are all consistent with a 2001 theatrical release print era
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 000063631
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