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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001782 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEBoromir and Aragorn
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001782

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, the first installment of Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy. Filmed entirely in New Zealand and marketed with an unprecedented theatrical campaign, the picture reshaped what audiences expected from fantasy cinema and proved that a three-part epic could anchor a major studio's fortunes. Its teaser and theatrical trailers became cultural events in their own right, previewing Middle-earth to millions before the film itself arrived, and remain sought after as artifacts of that anticipation.

This cell preserves a moment shared by Boromir and Aragorn, two men bound by the same quest but pulling toward different futures for Gondor. Their scenes together carry the tension of leadership and loyalty that drives much of the Fellowship's drama, making any frame pairing them a natural point of collector interest. Trailer cells like this one functioned as compressed storytelling, chosen to hint at character and conflict without revealing plot, offering a fragment of the promotional material that first introduced these two figures to the world.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm colour positive trailer print for a Lord of the Rings release.

Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read key numbers or stock codes.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight warm-neutral tint; dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Horizontal scratches and abrasion lines are visible along the lower edge area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same or near-identical moment, and the title text 'THE RETURN OF THE KING' is visible on each frame, consistent with a Lord of the Rings trailer strip.
Era check
A variable-area optical track alongside a colour positive 35mm print is consistent with a 2001-era theatrical release or trailer 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 000063642
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