Circle of Iron (1978)

Director:

Richard Moore

Writers:

Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) and
Stanley Mann (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 July 1978 (France)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

Bruce Lee's spirit lives in ... Circle of Iron

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Artist | Quest | Martial Arts | Buddhist | Desert

Awards:

1 nomination

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heinz Bernard	...	Ferryman (uncredited)
Vincent Di Paolo	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Larry S. Dratch	...	Arena Announcer (uncredited)
Dov Friedman	...	Young Monk (uncredited)
Jeremy Kaplan	...	Monkeyboy (uncredited)
Paul Maslansky	...	Student at Temple (uncredited)
Elizabeth Motzkin	...	Japanese Woman (uncredited)
Ronen Nabah	...	Beautiful Boy (uncredited)
Bobby Ne'eman	...	Thug Leader (uncredited)
Michal Nedivi	...	Boy's Mother (uncredited)
Zipora Peled	...	Ferryman's Wife (uncredited)
Kam Yuen	...	Red Band (uncredited)
Nissim Zohar	...	Boy's Father (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Moore

Writing credits
Stirling Silliphant		(screenplay) and
Stanley Mann		(screenplay)
Bruce Lee		(story) &
James Coburn		(story) and
Stirling Silliphant		(story)

Produced by
Sandy Howard	....	producer
Paul Maslansky	....	producer
Zvi Spielmann	....	associate producer
Richard R. St. Johns	....	executive producer (as Richard St. Johns)
Alex Massis	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bruce Smeaton

Cinematography by
Ronnie Taylor

Film Editing by
Ernest Walter

Casting by
Ann Bell		(as Ann Hunter Bell)

Production Design by
Tambi Larsen

Costume Design by
Lilly Fenichel

Makeup Department
Moni Mansano	....	makeup artist (as Moni Manzano)
Tom Smith	....	makeup artist
Michael Westmore	....	makeup artist (as Mike Westmore)

Production Management
Terence A. Clegg	....	production supervisor (as Terry Clegg)
Gadi Levy	....	production manager (as Gad Levy)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nissim Lvy	....	assistant director (as Nissim Levy)

Art Department
Zion Kobi	....	construction manager (as Zion Koby)
Jacob Kotzky	....	assistant art director (as Yaako Kotzky)
Graham Sumner	....	property master

Sound Department
Ken Barker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cyril Collick	....	sound mixer
William Trent	....	sound editor (as Bill Trent)
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Ray Caple	....	mattes

Stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator
Joe Lewis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mike Stone	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Danny Ben Menahem	....	gaffer (as Dany Ben-Menahem)
Eli Ben-Ari	....	still photographer
Eddie Collins	....	assistant camera
Simon Ransley	....	camera operator
Shimon Sabach	....	key grip
Ian Smith	....	clapper loader

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Betty St. Clair	....	costume manufacturer
Rochelle Zaltzman	....	wardrobe mistress (as Rochelle Saltzman)

Editorial Department
Christopher Lloyd	....	assistant editor (as Chris Lloyd)
Noel Rogers	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Quinn Donoghue	....	unit publicist (as Quinn Donaghue)
Beth Fishman	....	production secretary
Joe Lewis	....	martial arts coordinator
Jean Skinner	....	script supervisor
Carmela Spencer	....	production coordinator
Kam Yuen	....	martial arts coordinator

Production Companies

• Sandy Howard/Richard St. Johns Productions

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Blue Underground (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2009) (USA) (video) (Blu-ray)
• Blue Underground (2007) (USA) (DVD) (two disc special edition)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (video)
• Rank Film Organization

Other Companies

• Israfilm Ltd.  production services (as Israfilm)
• National Screen  titles
• Volare Productions  production services furnished by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | USA:R | Norway:15 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Bet Shean, Israel

Company:

Sandy Howard/Richard St. Johns Productions

Trivia:

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

Goofs:

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

Quotes:

Cord:How long have you been blind?
Blind Man:How long have you been blind?
Cord:I'm not blind.
Blind Man:Am I?
Cord:Do you answer every question with a question?
Blind Man:Do you question every answer?
Cord:Aww, talking to you is like talking to a wall.
Blind Man:Buddha once sat before a wall, and when he arose he was enlightened.
Cord:Do you compare yourself with Buddha?
Blind Man:(chuckles) No. Only to the wall.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

The meaning of martial arts

"Circle of Iron" is a movie that looks beyond the action of martial arts into the mystique and philosophy associated with it. It was originally intended to be made by Bruce Lee, but he died before it could be brought to the screen, so David Carradine steps in to fill the role.

How well the movie accomplishes it's goal depends on how seriously you take eastern philosophies. It's all too easy to watch a few minutes of it and dismiss it as some weird barbarian movie with lots of karate. It is decidedly low budget.

However, if you watch the movie and *listen* to what it's trying to tell, it's extremely engrossing, as it addresses questions and concepts that all of us wonder about at some time or another.

The man making the journey in this movie, "Cord," is acceptable, if a rather generic role. David Carradine plays several roles, but his most striking is that of an eerie blind man who fights off his opponents with a hollow staff that whistles as he twirls it.

This is a hard movie to find, but it does crop up sometimes on late night TV or cable, and is worth checking out.