Circle of Iron

source: Circle of Iron

This is a great movie, unlike just about any other martial arts film ever made. The idea behind it is not just to show off martial arts, but to dig into the deeper core "Zen" philosophy behind martial arts, as well. I personally wonder what Lee would have said about David Carradine taking his role (it is said that one reason Lee left Hollywood to go back to making films at home was when he lost out the role of Caine, an obvious Chinese, to Carradine, an American), but the actors all do a credible enough job, if not spectacular, in their roles. It would, indeed, be pleasant to peak into an alternate universe where this film was made with Lee and Coburn in their respective parts, however.

Wasn't sure what to expect with this one. It was either going to be great or awful. It's awful. Bruce Lee fans will no doubt love the Zen philosophy aspects to this pretentious fantasy film that at least boasts amazing locations, but the whole thing is just a mess. David Carradine is very irritating in this whether with it's his fortune cookie words of wisdom , god awful acting in about 4 roles or with his terrible martial arts 'skills'. The whole film feels like an ego boosting project for him really. Christopher Lee and Eli Wallach just embarrass themselves by appearing in this, even though they give good performances in their small roles. At least Roddy McDowell gets away a bit more lightly as his appearance is a 'blink and you'll miss it' job. Mind you if you want to watch David Carradine lurching about playing a kung fu chimp it's a must see. If my memory serves me correctly no other motion picture can boast David Carradine lurching about playing a kung fu chimp. That's right, a Kung Fu Chimp. Monkey magic. not. Give it a wide berth. Very poor indeed.

Yes I definitely agree it is no martial arts movie at all. As soon as the writers got hold of Bruce Lee's script, it all went out the window, much like Game of Death (one of the worse ever!!) It would have been much better without the poor attempts of martial arts in it. However, the zen and philosophy was very interesting, amusing and sometimes thought provoking. My two favourite parts, was one, the book of mirrors and two the end with the flute playing and the main characters were on the top of some mountain, wish I could find that soundtrack. Oh and the girl was not bad in it either;) .

This is one martial art movie I can enjoy over and over. "Circle of Iron" aka "The Silent Flute" is a mystical, yet wonderful movie ever made. Thanks to the legendary Bruce Lee(1940-73) his creation along with James Corburn. This movie's got a lot to show, and a lot of knowhow on enlightenment. A lone fighter named Cord(Jeff Cooper) is on a quest of finding a book during a tournament he loses a chance. Determinded he goes out t find this book. Morthond(Anthony De Longis), goes out on the journey and is defeated in his first trial. Too ashamed to return, he tell Cord to let him die honorably. Now more determined, he sets his sights. Along the way, he meets a lot of characters: A man in a pot of oil(Eli Wallach), a blind fighter(David Carradine) whom he travels with a lot, a woman named Tara(Erica Creer) whom he spends the night with only to find her crucified in the morning, and several others along the way. Cord is a brash, eager, and adamant, yet he learns what the blind man says and does. The fighting moves are swift, deadly, and efficient. I liked the part where Changsha(Carradine) puts out the candle light. Something I can do very well. Cord took on Changsha, as well as the Monkeyman and Death. That's showing the heart of a warrior. For a true warrior, they must know one's heart from within, not from without. A very well made movie, "The Dragon" should be proud! 5 stars!

Extraordinarily bizarre martial arts film that actor David Carradine inherited after Bruce Lee, who originally came up with the story, died. The protagonist is Jeff Cooper, though, who is a warrior who wants to challenge the famous and supposedly evil master Zetan (Christopher Lee) so he can get at the mysterious and magical book he guards. Carradine plays four different characters whom Cooper meets on his way to Zetan, three of whom are warriors themselves looking to stop Cooper. The fourth is a blind mystic who plays the flute and spouts out goofy proverbs like "If you tie two birds together, they have four wings but cannot fly." The film is pretentious to a laughable degree. But, screw it, I was laughing, so I was enjoying myself. I wouldn't say it's "so-bad-it's-good". More like it's so bizarre it's good. I loved the quasi-fantastic setting. The scenery (it was filmed in Israel) does feel otherworldly, and it's very beautiful. I also loved the costumes. Kung Fu Panda totally ripped off the ending of this movie. It's not surprising that opinions are so sharply divided on Circle of Iron, but I think any cult movie lover worth his salt will love the heck out of it, as I did.

This movie served as my introduction to mysticism and eastern thought during a most auspicious time in my life--adolescence. Even as horrible as the production values were and with all the sub-par acting, I can think of no other film that has has a greater impact on the course of my life. Bruce Lee had an understanding of life and nature that few have ever glimpsed. If it didn't sound so irreverent I would call him the poster child for Richard Bach's book, Johnathan Livingston Seagull. But on to the movie.. Based on an idea Bruce Lee had before his death, Circle of Iron aimed at expressing his Zen philosophy through a an extremely raw martial arts forum. The central character, Cord, is a seeker on a quest for the book of all knowledge. He experiences the trials and tribulations spelled out in other reviews and eventually finds what he's looking for--only it's nothing that he ever imagined it would be. This is not a movie for those who are easily distracted or require an inundation of action and effects to keep them absorbed. But if one is patient, it gives the viewer a chance to identify with a part of themselves that perhaps started on such a journey at one time, before being sidetracked by daily routine and less intrinsic pursuits. There is an arresting contrast between the brutality of the fight scenes and the sensitivity of the philosophical dialog. David Carradine plays multiple roles in the film, of which the primary one was to be played by Lee before he died--a blind man with a long wooden flute which serves doubly as a weapon of defense. If you're feeling like you're lost in the desert of worldly things, it may be of benefit to track this one down..

The main character Cord played by Jeff Cooper seems to be playing the same part he played in many late seventies and eighties TV shows "a guy who just dashed out of a hairdressers and is trying to find his Porsche". David Carradine seems to be trying to do a Peter Sellers, playing multi characters. What used to be his signature slow motion kung-fu, in this, seems to be the actual speed he moves at. The philosophy seems to be out of a box of cheap fortune cookies. The Israel locations do add a bit to this, but overall a fairly bad movie. If only Bruce Lee had made this the martial arts certainly would have been much better.

this is a mystically inclined adventurous journey of the meaning to life having purpose and fullfillment based on helping one another find the way to enlightenment,which the teacher(the blind man),and the student/venturer of meaning(cord)do. they use their opposite individualities to conjure up a unique and unforgettable partnership,which eventually becomes a true friendship at the end which is the result of understanding each other better and allowing each other's contrasting views to coincide to develop into the unique zenforce/fighting team that they become. the scenic background is a desert based atmosphere,whether it's israel or palestine.this type of setting coupled with the compelling music make this a landscape monument for the uniquely inclined deeper striver of zen/buddhism and enlightenment. like other's on imdb have mentioned,this is not a typical bloodsport,kickboxer or streetfighter type of flick.it's a picture that illustrates and exemplifies a deeper meaning to the journey one has with fullfilling they're search for martial arts based enlightenment. must be seen several times to really understand.unless you're a good listener and attentive viewer you wont appreciate it enough the first time you check it out.that's why i recommend that you watch it at least twice.once for yourself and the other time with a friend. for it's creativity and deeper meaning of martial arts based enlightenment i give this one a 9/10 rating.

I'd been intrigued by this one for some time due its being based on a story concocted by Bruce Lee and James Coburn; when it emerged as a "Special Edition" via the Blue Underground label, I had considered purchasing the DVD but somehow never got around to it. Eventually, CIRCLE OF IRON (as it's better-known) was even expanded into a fully-loaded 2-Disc Set…but, then, I happened upon the original disc at a local rental outlet and finally decided to check it out. As it happened, I was somewhat let down by the film: I'm all for exotic action/adventure stuff – a genre which got something of a revival during this era – but, despite the various trimmings (martial arts, mystical overtones, plus a number of rather superfluous cameo appearances by the likes of Roddy MacDowall, Eli Wallach and Christopher Lee), THE SILENT FLUTE came across as invincibly low-brow! Besides, while David Carradine is ostensibly the star (and even gets to play four different parts for no discernible reason!), the hero proper of the narrative was played a beefy protégé of his – Jeff Cooper – whose wooden performance here really drowned the film for me!! The plot – the winner of a martial arts tournament is assigned the task of seeking the whereabouts of a famous wizard (played by horror legend Lee) who is in possession of an all-powerful book – sounds intriguing on paper but, to be honest, the way this plays out on screen it's not terribly compelling; worse still, the denouement is a real cop-out! That said, the numerous action sequences and Carradine's characterization of a blind shepherd (himself a martial arts champion) who guides Cooper on his danger-fraught journey make the film palatable for the most part. Despite the obvious low-budget at his disposal, too, one-time-only director Moore (his more typical credit is as a cinematographer) lends the film reasonable visual style – accentuated by the expansive Israeli locations (which constitutes the film's main asset along with Australian composer Bruce Smeaton's beautiful score). As a matter of fact, Moore admits in the disc's Audio Commentary that the main reason that seemed to have gotten him the assignment in the first place was because his background as a cameraman assured (in the eyes of the producers, at least) outstanding visuals! THE SILENT FLUTE is, ultimately, a hodgepodge of disparate ideas (with its most bizarre element being Wallach's masochistic "Man In Oil" and his diatribe on the virtues of a life without one's own genitalia!) which don't really jell and, consequently, it works only in fits and starts...