Le cercle de fer

In a land that has never existed, Cord (Jeff Cooper) is a fighter searching for the secrets of a book guarded by Zetan (Christopher Lee). Along the way Cord encounters a Blind Man (David Carradine) who teaches him the art of philosophy through martial arts. This all comes in handy when Cord must face a series of opponents (all played by Carradine). Wow, where has this film been all of my life? Based on an idea by Bruce Lee, this is a really enjoyable flick that is as entertaining as it is outlandish. Carradine shines in all four of his roles and he and Cooper have a nice rapport (they were apparently friends in real life). It is also wild to see a buff guy pushing 40 like Cooper to be cast in the lead role. If this was made today, it would definitely be a kid. There are some quick supporting turns by Roddy McDowall and Christopher Lee, but the film's cameo highlight is Eli Wallach as "The Man in Oil." Yup, he is a guy bathing in a big drum of oil in the middle of the desert with the hopes it will make his genitals dissolve. Seriously! The entire scene unfolds as if they let Alejandro Jodorowsky do one day of filming for kicks. Cinematographer-turned-directer Richard Moore never directed another film after this and it is a shame as he gets some great use out of the locations in Israel.

This spiritual journey by muscleman Jeff Cooper is filled with goofy philosophics delivered with ridiculous austerity by the likes of guest stars David Carradine, Eli Wallach and Christopher Lee. It's all supposed to be mystical and enlightening, but it's mostly an unexhilirating peplum potboiler, without the enjoyably kitsch qualities that made that genre endearing. Listening to Lee philosophize was as dull as watching him perform was exciting. Oddball chopsocky.

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...

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.

"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.