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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001797 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEBoromir and Aragorn
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001797

FILM NOTES

New Line Cinema released The Fellowship of the Ring in December 2001, the first installment in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy and a landmark in modern fantasy filmmaking. Shot in New Zealand with groundbreaking practical and digital effects, it reintroduced epic storytelling to mainstream cinema and set the template for the blockbuster franchises that followed. The teaser and full trailers preceding release built enormous anticipation, offering audiences their first glimpses of Middle-earth before the film's theatrical debut.

This cell preserves a frame from that promotional reel featuring Aragorn and Boromir, two central figures of the Fellowship whose alliance and eventual tension form part of the trilogy's emotional core. Aragorn, heir to Gondor's throne, and Boromir, son of its steward, represent competing paths of duty and temptation. A trailer frame like this one captures the marketing campaign's early framing of these characters, a piece of film history distinct from the finished feature, prized by collectors for its role in shaping public expectation ahead of the saga's release.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm release 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; 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, consistent with a standard optical mono or stereo print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters reliably.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-cyan tint; dye image reads as warm-toned positive colour, no obvious fading or red shift visible.
Projection history
Horizontal scratches and abrasion lines are visible across the soundtrack area, consistent with a projected print.
Picture
Positive colour image; three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the title text 'THE RETURN OF THE KING' is visible on each frame, consistent with a Lord of the Rings trailer title card.
Era check
The variable-area optical track, warm colour dye base, and blue-tinted polyester-type base are consistent with a 2001-era release print; 'The Return of the King' title card on a Fellowship trailer strip is normal per trailer reel convention.
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 000063657
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