Jeff Cooper ("A Knife for the Ladies") stars here as Cord, a fighter who yearns to confront a character named Zetan and learn what is in the precious Book of Knowledge that Zetan guards. He has a variety of surreal encounters and adventures on his way to achieving this goal. One character whom he will repeatedly encounter is a wise (and tough) blind man (just one of four roles played by David Carradine) who plays the flute, has a bell on his toe, and who always has wisdom to impart to Cord.
The story for this one was conceived by none other than the great Bruce Lee, along with actor James Coburn (his friend & student) and the Oscar-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant ("In the Heat of the Night"). Bruce had intended to star in this very personal project; a few years after his premature death, the project was brought to fruition by such hands as director Richard Moore (usually a cinematographer, in his only theatrical directing credit), and ace D. P. Ronnie Taylor ("Gandhi").
Filmed on location in Israel, this might not have much value for people who just want to see a lot of fighting. In truth, there is not THAT much action here; this is more of an exploration of the philosophies behind martial arts, and if viewers aren't interested in the subject, they may find this fairly ponderous or just plain strange. But for adventurous cult movie lovers, this is nothing if not an interesting journey to take, an agreeable mixture of martial arts, mysticism, and comedy.
Beautifully shot by Taylor and camera operator Simon Ransley, and wonderfully scored by Bruce Smeaton, this gives Carradine one of the best showcases of his career. He's fun to watch, but Cooper can't help but come off as a bit dull compared to him. Erica Creer ("The Dogs of War") is highly enticing as Tara, while Sir Christopher Lee and Eli Wallach contribute vivid cameos (although the film is almost over before Lee appears). Roddy McDowall, however, is wasted in a nothing role that could have been played by just about anybody.
"Circle of Iron", a.k.a. "The Silent Flute", won't be for all tastes, but all in all it's an intriguing and unusual effort worthy of some respect.
Seven out of 10.
The story for this one was conceived by none other than the great Bruce Lee, along with actor James Coburn (his friend & student) and the Oscar-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant ("In the Heat of the Night"). Bruce had intended to star in this very personal project; a few years after his premature death, the project was brought to fruition by such hands as director Richard Moore (usually a cinematographer, in his only theatrical directing credit), and ace D. P. Ronnie Taylor ("Gandhi").
Filmed on location in Israel, this might not have much value for people who just want to see a lot of fighting. In truth, there is not THAT much action here; this is more of an exploration of the philosophies behind martial arts, and if viewers aren't interested in the subject, they may find this fairly ponderous or just plain strange. But for adventurous cult movie lovers, this is nothing if not an interesting journey to take, an agreeable mixture of martial arts, mysticism, and comedy.
Beautifully shot by Taylor and camera operator Simon Ransley, and wonderfully scored by Bruce Smeaton, this gives Carradine one of the best showcases of his career. He's fun to watch, but Cooper can't help but come off as a bit dull compared to him. Erica Creer ("The Dogs of War") is highly enticing as Tara, while Sir Christopher Lee and Eli Wallach contribute vivid cameos (although the film is almost over before Lee appears). Roddy McDowall, however, is wasted in a nothing role that could have been played by just about anybody.
"Circle of Iron", a.k.a. "The Silent Flute", won't be for all tastes, but all in all it's an intriguing and unusual effort worthy of some respect.
Seven out of 10.