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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001772 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-000001772

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema released The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, the opening chapter of Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy and a defining event in modern blockbuster filmmaking. Shot back to back with its sequels in New Zealand, the production reset expectations for fantasy on screen, blending practical craftsmanship with then-new digital tools. Its marketing campaign, including trailers that circulated widely before release, helped build one of the most anticipated theatrical rollouts of the era and set the template for franchise event cinema that followed.

This cell preserves a piece of that early promotional material, the card that announces the film's name to audiences before a single scene unfolds. Such a frame carries none of the story's characters or incident, only the identity of the work itself, making it a foundational artifact for anyone assembling a run of trailer and title material. Collectors of Middle-earth ephemera prize these markers because they represent the first handshake between studio and public, the moment a title alone was enough to signal scale and ambition.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring trailer (2001).

Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with a mono or stereo optical track; Dolby Digital data blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, and a narrow DTS timecode stripe is visible along the outer edge.
Edge print
Text reading 'KODAK' is visible along the edge, appearing reversed, quoted as read in the capture.
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a neutral to very slightly warm tint; dye image reads as a rich, saturated positive with strong black density and vivid gold tones.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are seen in this capture.
Picture
Positive image; all three frames show the same title-card composition, consistent with a title sequence from the film on record.
Era check
The combination of Kodak stock, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode stripe, and optical track is consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the 2001 release date on record.
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 000063632
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