Oct 27 2008
B+ Movie Review: Circle of Iron
Bruce Lee is a name that conjures images both fantastic and historical, an icon in the worlds of both martial arts and movie making. He had a forceful personality, incredible physical ability and a passion for the craft of movie making. His untimely death denied the world of what would have been outstanding moments in film, to be sure. His impact upon cinema and popular culture can’t be denied.
One of the things that Bruce left behind was a script written by him and James Coburn, later to be acquired and retooled by David Caradine. The resulting work was a 1978 movie entitled Circle of Iron.
Circle of Iron (also released as The Silent Flute) is a fable, a tale of a martial artist who seeks The Book of All Knowledge. He is told he is too undisciplined for the journey, but proceeds to take it anyway. Journeying through a dreamlike landscape, the seeker confronts a number of guardians along the path who test him and a blind flute player who guides him. His quest turns out be much more and very different than he expects.
David Carradine played four roles in this movie, three of the aforementioned guardians and the flute player. The lead was played by Jeff Cooper, who went on to play a number of bit parts n 80’s television. The parts were originally to be played by Bruce Lee and James Coburn, respectively.
If you watch this movie looking for an action film, you’ll get disappointed. This isn’t to say there isn’t a goodly amount of butt kicking, it’s just that it tends to run at a slower pace than one might expect. The fights are less about blood and punches and more about the young seeker learning about himself and what it is he’s seeking.
I caught this on cable when I was a kid. It was on in the middle of the night and I was riveted. Watching it as an adult, I was not utterly disappointed with my love of the film and was glad to see that it’s been making rounds on cable again.
Dare I say anything negative about a story inspired by the work of Bruce Lee? Well, in fairness, I have to. The movie tries to evoke an ethereal quality but it comes off in some scenes as just goofy and wears on the suspension of disbelief. The pace of the film is sometimes agonizing by modern standards and while a very deep story is being told, Jeff Cooper’s acting sometimes doesn’t keep up. The fact that Circle of Iron is more myth than grit makes the less convincing stretches more bearable, but a viewer today might find the movie a bit hokey.
In the ratings, this one falls solidly in the B category. It’s also a film I’d love to see remade with today’s technology and standards. I can’t judge if Carradine did justice to Lee’s vision, but Circle of Iron is definitely worth watching for fans of either man’s work or of martial arts films in general.
