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National Film Vault

OFFICIAL FILM AUTHENTICATION BY CROWN GRADING
A
AUTHENTIC
CROWN CERTIFIED
Film cell NFV-000001803 Tap to enlarge
MOVIEThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Movie Trailer
SCENEBoromir and Aragorn
FILM FORMAT35mm
YEAR2001
CERTIFICATE IDNFV-000001803

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 shot back to back in New Zealand. Its trailer campaign was a major event in film marketing, building anticipation for a fantasy epic on a scale rarely attempted, blending practical sets, costume, and early digital effects to convince audiences that Middle-earth was real. The teaser and theatrical trailers became collector touchstones in their own right, predating the finished feature's release and capturing the project's ambition before the film itself reached theaters.

This piece comes from that trailer material, pairing Boromir and Aragorn, two men bound by the same doomed war and the same broken kingdom of Gondor. Boromir, proud and burdened by duty, and Aragorn, reluctant heir to a throne he does not yet claim, represent the human element of the Fellowship, its conflicts of loyalty and legacy. Collectors prize their scenes for the tension between brotherhood and rivalry that defines their arc. A trailer cell like this offers an early glimpse of that dynamic, sold to audiences before the story's full weight was known.

Authentication Findings 8 checks

Consistent with a 35mm theatrical trailer release 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 and appearing cleanly punched with no visible torn or missing perforations.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical soundtrack track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area.
Edge print
Edge print reads 'EMICOLOR' along the top edge; additional alphanumeric key codes are present but not fully legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base appears with a warm amber-gold tint on the lower strip section; the dye image reads as a colour positive with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks or significant scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be the same title-card frame showing 'THE RETURN OF THE KING' text, consistent with a trailer end card for a Lord of the Rings release.
Era check
The variable-area optical track, colour positive stock, and EMICOLOR edge print are consistent with a theatrical release print from the early 2000s era 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 000063663
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