National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING

AUTHENTIC

CROWN CERTIFIED

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MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Movie Trailer

SCENEBoromir and Aragorn

FILM FORMAT35mm

YEAR2001

CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001785

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema closed out Peter Jackson's trilogy with The Return of the King in 2001-2003, the promotional push for which stands among the most anticipated in modern studio history. Adapted from Tolkien's final volume, the film swept the following year's Academy Awards, including Best Picture, cementing the franchise's place in cinema history. Trailer material from this campaign circulated ahead of release, building anticipation for the story's closing chapters and giving audiences their first extended look at how the saga would resolve.

This cell pairs Boromir, played by Sean Bean, with Aragorn, played by Viggo Mortensen, two central figures of the Fellowship whose bond and shared history run through the trilogy's emotional core. Boromir's arc, cut short in the first film, remains one of the series' most collected threads, while Aragorn's journey toward kingship anchors the entire saga. A trailer cell like this one preserves a promotional moment meant to stir recognition and anticipation, capturing these two actors and characters together as the marketing machine prepared audiences for the story's culmination.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Gauge: 35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations: Four per frame on each edge; spacing appears even; edges of the perforations appear cleanly punched 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 print; Dolby Digital pixel blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge.
Edge print: Text reading 'THE RETURN OF THE KING' is printed vertically within the picture area as a title card; no manufacturer key numbers or SAFETY FILM edge text are legible in this capture.
Base & colour: Base appears with a slight blue-tinted cast from the light panel; dye image reads as warm-toned with no obvious red shift or fading visible.
Projection history: Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the strip, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture: Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot and the title text visible matches the film on record.
Era check: The combination of a variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s, matching the period of the film 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 000063645

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