October 6, 2002

Re: The Firstborn
Brett C.

Rune of Mirkwood, the Elves need nothing to'sustain' their youth and beauty; these are their natural gifts from Eru. On their forced march Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli mostly rely on lembas, or Elvish waybread. It has the power to sustainthose eating it for a whole day, "even if he be a tall man of Minas Tirith."

The reference to the way Elves can die probably comes from the Silmarillion; the Valar Mandos reminds the Elves at one point that, while they do not age or suffer any sickness, "yet slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be: by weapon and by torment and by grief; and your houseless spirits shall come then to Mandos." [the name of the mansions of the dead, as well as it's Lord]

I have had only a brief look at the FOTR art book, but it sounds fascinating. May I recommend, though, as one whose Tolkien obsession also began from a movie adaption, that you delve deeply into Tolkien's own written words. The white knives, for example, are the cinematic adaption of the single blade which the 'historical' Legolas carries, described only as a 'long white knife.' This is not to detract in any way from the efforts of PJ and crew; rather, I think it gives you a fresh appreciation of their ability to weave so faithful a tapestry on screen, while being forced to make hard choices to create a product that would justify it's finacial backers support.