''Circle of Iron'' is a 1978
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
directed by
Richard Moore and co-written by
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
, who intended to star in the film himself, but died before production. The film is also known as ''The Silent Flute'', which was the original title of the story conceived by Lee,
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
and
Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and Film producer, producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for ''In the Heat of the Night (film), In the Heat of the Night'', for which he w ...
in 1969. After Lee's death in 1973, Silliphant and
Stanley Mann
Stanley Mann (August 8, 1928 – January 11, 2016) was a Canadian screenwriter. Born in Toronto, Ontario, he began his writing career in 1951 at CBC Radio, and was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the 1965 film ''The Collector'', based on t ...
completed the screenplay, and Lee's part was given to ''
Kung Fu
Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
'' television star
David Carradine
David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series ''Kung Fu'', playi ...
. Many other well-known character actors also had small roles in the film, including
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...
,
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...
and
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
.
Plot
At a martial arts tournament, fighters compete for the right to begin a quest to challenge Zetan (Lee), a famous wizard who possesses a special book of enlightenment that is supposed to contain all the world's wisdom. The arrogant brawler Cord (
Jeff Cooper
John Dean "Jeff" Cooper (May 10, 1920 – September 25, 2006) was a United States Marine, the creator of a "modern technique" of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of small arms.
Early life and education
Cooper was ...
) defeats every opponent, but he is disqualified for fighting dishonorably. Cord decides to follow the eventual winner, Morthond (
Anthony de Longis
Anthony Charles De Longis (born March 23, 1950) is an American actor, stuntman, and fight choreographer.
Life and career
De Longis was born in Glendale, California. He attended California State University, Northridge where he was initiated ...
), hoping that he can lead Cord to Zetan.
While the two fighters are resting, a blind flutist (Carradine) walks by them and into a nearby building. Cord follows the blind man and sees him easily dispatch a gang of thugs who attack him. Impressed by his fighting skills, Cord asks the blind man to be his teacher. The blind man refuses, but Cord follows him anyway. Cord becomes frustrated with the way the blind man teaches his lessons in riddles, and they soon part ways.
Cord finds Morthond wounded from the first trial. Morthond asks Cord to help him end his suffering and pursue his quest to find Zetan. Cord does, and he faces a tribe of monkey men whose leader, the Monkeyman (Carradine), is a great fighter. Cord challenges and eventually overcomes the Monkeyman, who then tells him how to find his second trial.
On the way, Cord encounters a man in a large cauldron of oil (Wallach) who is attempting to dissolve the lower half of his body. The man is hoping to end his sexual urges to find enlightenment. He invites Cord to join him, but Cord immediately leaves.
Cord then comes upon a band of travelers holding a festival. Cord meets with their leader, Chang-Sha (Carradine), who offers to let Cord sleep with one of his wives, Tara (Erica Creer). Cord declines due to his vow of
celibacy
Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...
. However, he challenges Chang-Sha to combat. The contest is set for the following day. During the night, Cord is joined in his tent by Tara. They make love, and Cord asks Tara to stay with him forever. The next morning when Cord awakes, he finds that the entire band has left, and that Tara has been
crucified
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
.
Resuming his journey, Cord has a vision of Death (Carradine), but he dispels the spirit by demonstrating his lack of fear.
While trying to find Chang-Sha, Cord reaches an
oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
, where he again meets the blind man. Cord again asks him to be his teacher; the blind man agrees, and they travel together. Encounters with a poor ferryman, a band of raiders and a spoiled child become opportunities for the blind man to teach an exasperated Cord a few life lessons before they go their separate ways once again.
Cord finally finds Chang-Sha and his band. Cord holds himself responsible for Tara's death, but he insists on fighting Chang-Sha to learn the location of Zetan. The fight ends in a draw, but Chang-Sha tells Cord how to find Zetan anyway.
Cord reaches the island where Zetan lives. He encounters the sect that protects the book of enlightenment. Cord expects to fight, but Zetan explains that Cord has passed the trials and is entitled to read the book. He even asks Cord to replace him as the new keeper of the book. Opening it, Cord finds that the book's pages are simply mirrors. Zetan explains that there is no book of wisdom, and that enlightenment is found only in oneself. Cord walks off laughing, declining to take Zetan's place, and leaves the island. He rejoins the blind man, who gives Cord his flute, passing on his role of teacher.
Bruce Lee's inspiration
Bruce Lee envisioned his film as an entertaining introduction to
Eastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy or Asian philosophy includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philosophy; which are dominant in East Asia, ...
, as well as martial arts. As he wrote in a preface to the script:
The story illustrates a great difference between Oriental and Western thinking. This average Westerner would be intrigued by someone's ability to catch flies with chopsticks, and would probably say that has nothing to do with how good he is in combat. But the Oriental would realize that a man who has attained such complete mastery of an art reveals his presence of mind in every action...True mastery transcends any particular art.
After Lee abandoned the project, the original script was rewritten, replacing some violent scenes with comedic themes.
Cast
*
David Carradine
David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series ''Kung Fu'', playi ...
as The Blind Man / The Monkeyman / Death / Chang-Sha
*
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
as Zetan
*
Jeff Cooper
John Dean "Jeff" Cooper (May 10, 1920 – September 25, 2006) was a United States Marine, the creator of a "modern technique" of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of small arms.
Early life and education
Cooper was ...
as Cord
*
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...
as White Robe
*
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...
as The Man-In-Oil
*
Anthony De Longis
Anthony Charles De Longis (born March 23, 1950) is an American actor, stuntman, and fight choreographer.
Life and career
De Longis was born in Glendale, California. He attended California State University, Northridge where he was initiated ...
as Morthond
*
Earl Maynard
Earl Maynard (born November 28, 1935) is a bodybuilder and professional wrestler as well as a film actor, producer and director from Barbados.
Career
Bodybuilding
Maynard won the 1964 Universe - Pro - NABBA bodybuilding competition - part of the ...
as Black Giant
* Erica Creer as Tara
Reception
Box office
In the United States, the film earned in
theatrical rental
A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is freq ...
s. This was equivalent to estimated
box office
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
gross receipts of approximately .
Critical response
The film's reception was mostly negative, with critics citing poor acting and martial arts, but it has gained a cult following. It currently holds a 38% "rotten" rating on review aggregate website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on seven reviews.
On the occasion of the Blu-ray release, film critic
Dave Kehr
David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the ''Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a c ...
wrote: "(...) the picture is a mildly enjoyable martial arts fable shot in Israel, where the desert locations give the Eastern philosophizing a discordantly biblical slant. (...) Indifferently directed by the cinematographer Richard Moore (“The Wild Angels”), “Circle of Iron” is no great shakes as a movie but remains a wistful reminder of the modest pleasures (emphasis on modest) of the pre-blockbuster action movie, when budgets were more in line with ambitions."
Home Media
The film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
on September 28, 2004, and on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on May 19, 2009, by
Blue Underground
Blue Underground is an American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult and exploitation movies on Blu-ray Disc and DVD.
It was originally formed as a shell company to oversee 'making of' documentaries during founder ...
. Extras include audio commentary with director Richard Moore, and "''Playing The Silent Flute'': Interview with Star David Carradine." The DVD extras also include "''Bruce Lee's The Silent Flute'': A History By Davis Miller & Klae Moore," and First Draft Script by Bruce Lee, James Coburn & Stirling Silliphant (DVD-ROM). The Blu-ray extras include interview with co-producer
Paul Maslansky
Paul Marc Maslansky (born November 23, 1933) is an American film producer and writer best known for the ''Police Academy'' movies.
Early life
Maslansky was born in Rego Park, New York on November 23, 1933. He played jazz for a living while br ...
, interview with martial arts coordinator
Joe Lewis, and audio-interview with co-writer Stirling Silliphant.
References
External links
*
*
*
''Circle of Iron''at
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Circle Of Iron
1978 films
1978 martial arts films
1970s fantasy films
American martial arts films
Films with screenplays by Stirling Silliphant
Films shot in Israel
Films scored by Bruce Smeaton
Films with screenplays by Stanley Mann
Films produced by Paul Maslansky
Films set on islands
Films about wizards
1970s English-language films
1970s American films