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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001788 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEAragorn
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001788

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema's 2001 gamble on Tolkien redefined the modern blockbuster, proving that a single sprawling epic could be split across three years and still command the cultural imagination. Directed by Peter Jackson and shot entirely in New Zealand, The Fellowship of the Ring arrived with a teaser campaign that built extraordinary anticipation, its trailer footage circulating widely before the film itself premiered. That marketing push, cut from early production material, became a cultural event in its own right, giving audiences their first glimpse of Middle earth realized on screen.

This cell preserves a frame from that trailer, centered on Aragorn, the ranger whose true identity as heir to Gondor's throne anchors the trilogy's arc from reluctant wanderer to king. Trailer cells like this one hold particular appeal for collectors because they represent the film's earliest public face, made before the character's full journey was known to audiences. Aragorn's presence in promotional material signals his importance to the saga even at this preliminary stage, a piece of the Fellowship's mythology captured ahead of the story's wider release.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm colour positive theatrical trailer print from the Lord of the Rings series.

Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punching appears clean with no torn or deformed holes visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a single-track format.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
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
No splices, cue marks or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same title-card shot repeating, showing the text 'THE RETURN OF THE KING' — consistent with a trailer end-card for a Lord of the Rings release.
Era check
A variable-area optical track on a colour positive 35mm print is consistent with a 2001-era theatrical trailer 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 000063648
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