Sting (Middle-earth)
Sting has the magical ability to detect orcs or goblins nearby, glowing blue in their presence, as it did when the Fellowship encountered orcs in the mines of Moria. Tolkien establishes this as a common property of First Age Elf blades, particularly those forged in Gondolin. Sting is also exceptionally sharp. Bilbo manages to thrust it without effort deep into a wooden beam at Rivendell. Frodo also wounds a troll in Moria, after Boromir notches his own sword with his attempt. Sam uses Sting to cut through the giant spider Shelob's strong webs with ease, and also wound the spider, driving it away from the paralyzed Frodo.
Middle-earth in film
J. R. R. Tolkien's novels "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", set in Middle-earth, have been the subject of various film adaptations. There were many early failed attempts to bring the fictional universe to life in screen, some even rejected by the author himself. The first depictions of Middle-earth on film were realized in 1966 as a short cartoon film. In 1978 the first big screen adaptation of the fictional setting was introduced in "The Lord of the Rings". The story was more or less completed with the animated television special "The Return of the King". In 1985, Middle-earth was depicted in a live-action film for the first time by an adaptation produced in the Soviet Union. In 1993, a live-action television miniseries titled "Hobitit" was aired by the Finnish broadcaster Yle.