Circle of Iron (1978)

A young martial artist, Cord the Seeker, competes for and loses the right to go on a quest for the Book of All Knowlege held by a wizard named Zetan, but he goes along the path to seek ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Moore

Writers:

Stirling Silliphant (screenplay), Stanley Mann (screenplay),

Stars:

David Carradine, Jeff Cooper, Christopher Lee

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
David Carradine	...	The Blind Man / Monkeyman / Death / Changsha
Jeff Cooper	...	Cord
Christopher Lee	...	Zetan
Roddy McDowall	...	White Robe
Eli Wallach	...	Man-in-Oil
Anthony De Longis	...	Morthond (as Anthony de Longis)
Earl Maynard	...	Black Giant
Erica Creer	...	Tara
Michael M. Vendrell	...	Martial Artist (as Michael Vendrell)
Leo Whang	...	Martial Artist
Donnie Williams	...	Martial Artist
Robert Gardner	...	Martial Artist
Tom Ascensio	...	Martial Artist

Storyline

A young martial artist, Cord the Seeker, competes for and loses the right to go on a quest for the Book of All Knowlege held by a wizard named Zetan, but he goes along the path to seek Zetan anyway. Along the way, he meets strange tests and challenges by enemies and allies - often having difficulty determining which is which.

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Plot Keywords:

martial artist | quest | martial arts | buddhist | desert | 

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Taglines:

The Challenge Of A Lifetime...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 July 1978 (France)

Also Known As:

The Silent Flute

Filming Locations:

Bet Shean, Israel

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sandy Howard/Richard St. Johns Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Carradine was originally offered the part of the main character Cord, but preferred the multiple roles intended for Bruce Lee.

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Goofs

During the fight between Changsha and the Black Giant David Carradine's wig falls off after a high kick.

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Quotes

Blind Man: A fish saved my life once.
Cord: How?
Blind Man: I ate him.

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Connections

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996)

User Reviews

"Nothing is Self..."

This film is outstanding, if not a cinematic work of excellence. The level of camp it displays works well with the oddly exotic Israeli background it was filmed upon. Many stories are offered about how Bruce Lee and James Coburn struggled to move this project forward, and how David Carradine capitalized on his fame in the TV series "Kung Fu" to pick up the story rights, but the work also honors what Lee felt was the essence of the martial arts. This film is mistakenly classified as a "martial arts" film, and subsequently knocked for Carradine's friend and co-star Jeff Cooper's lack of grace and skills in both fighting and acting. "Circle of Iron" also has its flaws in direction and incidental music but shines in its eccentricity, cast, zen precepts, and Cord's awakening that "there is no meaning in life except the meaning that man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers".