Circle of Iron
Encyclopedia
Circle of Iron is a 1978 martial arts
and fantasy
film co-written by Bruce Lee
, who intended to star in the film himself, but he died before production. The film is also known as The Silent Flute, which was the original title of the story conceived by Bruce Lee
, James Coburn
, and Stirling Silliphant
in 1969. After Lee's death in 1973, Silliphant and Stanley Mann
completed the screenplay, and Lee's part was given to the Kung Fu
television star, David Carradine
. Many other well known character actors also had small roles in the film, including Roddy McDowall
, Eli Wallach
, and Christopher Lee
.
The quest to find Zetan requires each seeker to undergo a series of trials, usually fights, before Zetan can be located. Many of these trials may end in the seekers deaths. Cord, determined to find Zetan no matter what, decides to follow Morthond; knowing that Morthond will know the way to the first trial. Morthond, irritated that Cord is following him, actually breaks his vow of silence to demand that Cord go away. COrd, however, refuses.
While the two men are resting at a fountain, a blind man (David Carradine) with a staff walks by them and into a nearby building. Soon, the sounds of fights are heard. Cord goes to see what is happening. Morthond, meanwhile, leaves, hoping to be rid of Cord. Cord goes into the building and sees that the blind man appears to have stumbled onto a gang of evil fighters; they are all attacking him. However, the blind man easily defeats all of them. When the leader is the only member of the gang left, the gang leader decides to try to kill the blind man by throwing a knife at him. Cord intervenes by killing the gang leader with a shuriken.
The next morning, Cord finds the blind man playing a flute that is built into his staff and asks him to be his teacher. Thought the blind man initially refuses, Cord follows him anyways. They soon come upon a monkey who tries to circle the blind man to attack him from behind. The blind man, however, never allows the monkey to go behind him, and the monkey, frustrated, leaves. Cord realizes that the blind man has shown him how to fight the monkey, but when the blindman compares his chattering to theirs, Cord is offended. The blind man soon leaves Cord behind.
Suddenly, Cord sees Morthond, wounded and blinded from the first trial. Morthond gives Cord the seeker medallion, and asks Cord to help him committ suicide. Cord does, and then goes to face the trial. The trial is in the lair of a group of monkey men, and their leader (David Carradine) is fighting another seeker. After killing the seeker, Monkeyman claims his medallion. At this point, Cord steps in and announces his intention to face the trial. The Monkeyman attempts to get Cord off-balanced with a series of jibes, but Cord, remembering what the blind man taught him, remains focused. The two fight and Cord eventually overpowers Monkeyman, who then tells Cord how to find his second trial.
On the way to his second trial, Cord encounters a man in an large cauldron of oil (Eli Wallach, who is attempting to dissolve the lower half of his body. The man, wishing to find enlightenment, was frustrated at the fact that he could not be completely celibate, decided to remove his lower half of the body, hoping that would end his sexual urges. He invites Cord to join him, but Cord immediately leaves. Cord then comes upon a band of gypsies, where it appears every type of pleasure is available. Cord enters a tent where the leader, Chang-Sha, immediately invites him to join them. Cord tells Chang-Sha about his quest; Chang-sha then offers to allow Cord to sleep with one of his wives, a woman named Tara. Cord mentions that he has taken a vow of celibacy, at which Chang-Sha laughs. While they are talking, however, another seeker, a black giant (Earl Maynard) challenges Chang-Sha. While it appears that the black giant is a powerful foe, Chang-Sha easily defeats and kills him. Cord asks when they fight; Chang-Sha says that they must sleep first.
Cord is mediating in his ten when he is joined by Tara. At first, he resists her advances, but eventually gives in. While they are making love, Cord asks Tara to stay with him forever. Tara tells him that she will go with him, but first they must rest. When Cord awakes, he finds that the entire band has left, and that Tara has been crucified by Chang-Sha. In a rage, Cord begins looking for Chang-Sha, but is unable to find him.
The next night, Cord has a dream in which Death (David Carradine) comes for him in the form of a man-like panther. Cord, however, laughs at Death, and refuses to be scared. Death, frustrated by Cord's bravado, leaves.
Eventually, Cord comes to an oasis where he again meets the blind man. The blind man asks him about his trial; Cord says it was a lesson. He tells him that he had tried to possess Tara, and in doing so, had killed her. Cord asks him to again be his teacher; the blind man agrees if Cord will promise not to ask him any questions about anything he sees until the blind man is ready to give him an answer. Cord accepts these terms and they travel together. When they come to a river, a ferryman allows them to use his boat even though his wife doesn't think that their payment is enough. Upon cross the river, the blind man kicks the boat in. Cord, forgeting his promise, asks why. The blind man hides, which Cord thinks is foolish, until a band of mercenaries come into the area. Cord and the blind man run, fighting the mercenaries as needed. At one point, the blind man stops to fix a wall that the mercenaries had knocked over, which Cord thinks is foolish.
After they escape the mercenaries, Cord and the blind man come to a fishing village. There, a boy, spoiled because his parents worship his good looks, comes up the blind man and demands coins. The blind man strikes the boy, breaking his nose. Angry, Cord demands an explanation from the blind man. The blind man explains that he kicked in the boat to keep the soldiers from using it to cross the river and kill the ferryman, he fixed the stone wall to keep the soldiers from finding a bag of coins hidden there so that they would not still it and leave its owner without means, and he struck the boy so that his parents would no longer be bound to his good looks and would be able to raise him to be a better person. The blind man again leaves Cord.
Cord walks along the beach and again finds Chang-Sha and his band. When Cord explains that there is no quarrel between them, and it was he, not Chang-Sha, that killed Tara, Chang-Sha offers to allow Cord to join his band. Cord, however, insists on finding Zetan. The two fight, and as they do so, Cord suddenly finds that he is also fighting the Monkey Man and Death. Cord, off-balance from this, starts to lose. However, he soon hears the blind-mans flute, and regains focus. The fight ends in a draw, and Chang-Sha tells Cord how to find Zetan.
Cord is taken by a boat to the island where Zetan lives. When they first meet, Cord is defensive at first, still expecting to have to fight. Zetan, however, explains that because Cord has made it to the island, he is entitled to take possession of the book. He tells Cord that he can become the keeper without looking at the book, just as he had, but Cord insists on looking at the book. Opening it, he finds that book's pages are nothing but mirrors. Zetan then explains that there is no book of wisdom, and the enlightenment is found only in one's self. Cord, then realizing that Zetan is not an invincible martial artist but really a prisoner, bound by responsibility, rebuffs Zetan's offer to take his place. Cord leaves the island and again finds the blind man. The blind man, now no longer blind, sees Cord and asks him what he saw in the book. Cord tells him that he saw everything. The two embrace and then the blind man gives Cord his flute, passing on his role of teacher to Cord.
, as well as martial arts. As he wrote in a preface to the script:
After Lee abandoned the project, the original script was rewritten, replacing some violent scenes with comedic themes.
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
film co-written by Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
, who intended to star in the film himself, but he died before production. The film is also known as The Silent Flute, which was the original title of the story conceived by Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
, James Coburn
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor. Coburn appeared in nearly 70 films and made over 100 television appearances during his 45-year career, and played a wide range of roles and won an Academy Award for his supporting role as Glen Whitehouse in Affliction.A capable,...
, and Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Dale Silliphant was an American screenwriter and producer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, moved to Glendale, California as a child, graduated from Hoover High School, and was educated at the University of Southern California...
in 1969. After Lee's death in 1973, Silliphant and Stanley Mann
Stanley Mann
Stanley Mann is a Canadian-born film and television writer. He began his writing career in 1951, and was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the 1965 film The Collector, based on the John Fowles novel of the same title. In 1957 he penned an adaptation of Death of a Salesman for television...
completed the screenplay, and Lee's part was given to the Kung Fu
Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
television star, David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
. Many other well known character actors also had small roles in the film, including Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
, Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Eli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
, and Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
.
Plot
Circle of Iron is set in a world that, according to the prologue, "never was and always is." The movie begins with a martial arts competition, in which several fighters are competing for the right to begin a quest to challenge Zetan, a suposedly invincible fighter, who possesses a special book of enlightenment that is supposed to contain all the world's wisdom. The competition eventually comes down to two fighters, Cord (played by Jeff Cooper) and Morthond (Anthony de Longis). During the fight, Cord, desperate to win, strikes Morthond while he is down and is disqualified from competition. Morthond is awarded a special medallion that marks him as a "seeker," a person who is on a quest to find Zetan. Cord challeges the decision, but is told to leave.The quest to find Zetan requires each seeker to undergo a series of trials, usually fights, before Zetan can be located. Many of these trials may end in the seekers deaths. Cord, determined to find Zetan no matter what, decides to follow Morthond; knowing that Morthond will know the way to the first trial. Morthond, irritated that Cord is following him, actually breaks his vow of silence to demand that Cord go away. COrd, however, refuses.
While the two men are resting at a fountain, a blind man (David Carradine) with a staff walks by them and into a nearby building. Soon, the sounds of fights are heard. Cord goes to see what is happening. Morthond, meanwhile, leaves, hoping to be rid of Cord. Cord goes into the building and sees that the blind man appears to have stumbled onto a gang of evil fighters; they are all attacking him. However, the blind man easily defeats all of them. When the leader is the only member of the gang left, the gang leader decides to try to kill the blind man by throwing a knife at him. Cord intervenes by killing the gang leader with a shuriken.
The next morning, Cord finds the blind man playing a flute that is built into his staff and asks him to be his teacher. Thought the blind man initially refuses, Cord follows him anyways. They soon come upon a monkey who tries to circle the blind man to attack him from behind. The blind man, however, never allows the monkey to go behind him, and the monkey, frustrated, leaves. Cord realizes that the blind man has shown him how to fight the monkey, but when the blindman compares his chattering to theirs, Cord is offended. The blind man soon leaves Cord behind.
Suddenly, Cord sees Morthond, wounded and blinded from the first trial. Morthond gives Cord the seeker medallion, and asks Cord to help him committ suicide. Cord does, and then goes to face the trial. The trial is in the lair of a group of monkey men, and their leader (David Carradine) is fighting another seeker. After killing the seeker, Monkeyman claims his medallion. At this point, Cord steps in and announces his intention to face the trial. The Monkeyman attempts to get Cord off-balanced with a series of jibes, but Cord, remembering what the blind man taught him, remains focused. The two fight and Cord eventually overpowers Monkeyman, who then tells Cord how to find his second trial.
On the way to his second trial, Cord encounters a man in an large cauldron of oil (Eli Wallach, who is attempting to dissolve the lower half of his body. The man, wishing to find enlightenment, was frustrated at the fact that he could not be completely celibate, decided to remove his lower half of the body, hoping that would end his sexual urges. He invites Cord to join him, but Cord immediately leaves. Cord then comes upon a band of gypsies, where it appears every type of pleasure is available. Cord enters a tent where the leader, Chang-Sha, immediately invites him to join them. Cord tells Chang-Sha about his quest; Chang-sha then offers to allow Cord to sleep with one of his wives, a woman named Tara. Cord mentions that he has taken a vow of celibacy, at which Chang-Sha laughs. While they are talking, however, another seeker, a black giant (Earl Maynard) challenges Chang-Sha. While it appears that the black giant is a powerful foe, Chang-Sha easily defeats and kills him. Cord asks when they fight; Chang-Sha says that they must sleep first.
Cord is mediating in his ten when he is joined by Tara. At first, he resists her advances, but eventually gives in. While they are making love, Cord asks Tara to stay with him forever. Tara tells him that she will go with him, but first they must rest. When Cord awakes, he finds that the entire band has left, and that Tara has been crucified by Chang-Sha. In a rage, Cord begins looking for Chang-Sha, but is unable to find him.
The next night, Cord has a dream in which Death (David Carradine) comes for him in the form of a man-like panther. Cord, however, laughs at Death, and refuses to be scared. Death, frustrated by Cord's bravado, leaves.
Eventually, Cord comes to an oasis where he again meets the blind man. The blind man asks him about his trial; Cord says it was a lesson. He tells him that he had tried to possess Tara, and in doing so, had killed her. Cord asks him to again be his teacher; the blind man agrees if Cord will promise not to ask him any questions about anything he sees until the blind man is ready to give him an answer. Cord accepts these terms and they travel together. When they come to a river, a ferryman allows them to use his boat even though his wife doesn't think that their payment is enough. Upon cross the river, the blind man kicks the boat in. Cord, forgeting his promise, asks why. The blind man hides, which Cord thinks is foolish, until a band of mercenaries come into the area. Cord and the blind man run, fighting the mercenaries as needed. At one point, the blind man stops to fix a wall that the mercenaries had knocked over, which Cord thinks is foolish.
After they escape the mercenaries, Cord and the blind man come to a fishing village. There, a boy, spoiled because his parents worship his good looks, comes up the blind man and demands coins. The blind man strikes the boy, breaking his nose. Angry, Cord demands an explanation from the blind man. The blind man explains that he kicked in the boat to keep the soldiers from using it to cross the river and kill the ferryman, he fixed the stone wall to keep the soldiers from finding a bag of coins hidden there so that they would not still it and leave its owner without means, and he struck the boy so that his parents would no longer be bound to his good looks and would be able to raise him to be a better person. The blind man again leaves Cord.
Cord walks along the beach and again finds Chang-Sha and his band. When Cord explains that there is no quarrel between them, and it was he, not Chang-Sha, that killed Tara, Chang-Sha offers to allow Cord to join his band. Cord, however, insists on finding Zetan. The two fight, and as they do so, Cord suddenly finds that he is also fighting the Monkey Man and Death. Cord, off-balance from this, starts to lose. However, he soon hears the blind-mans flute, and regains focus. The fight ends in a draw, and Chang-Sha tells Cord how to find Zetan.
Cord is taken by a boat to the island where Zetan lives. When they first meet, Cord is defensive at first, still expecting to have to fight. Zetan, however, explains that because Cord has made it to the island, he is entitled to take possession of the book. He tells Cord that he can become the keeper without looking at the book, just as he had, but Cord insists on looking at the book. Opening it, he finds that book's pages are nothing but mirrors. Zetan then explains that there is no book of wisdom, and the enlightenment is found only in one's self. Cord, then realizing that Zetan is not an invincible martial artist but really a prisoner, bound by responsibility, rebuffs Zetan's offer to take his place. Cord leaves the island and again finds the blind man. The blind man, now no longer blind, sees Cord and asks him what he saw in the book. Cord tells him that he saw everything. The two embrace and then the blind man gives Cord his flute, passing on his role of teacher to Cord.
Bruce Lee's inspiration
Bruce Lee envisioned his film as an entertaining introduction to Eastern philosophyEastern philosophy
Eastern philosophy includes the various philosophies of Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Iranian philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Indian philosophy and Korean philosophy...
, as well as martial arts. As he wrote in a preface to the script:
The story illustrates a great difference between Oriental and Western thinking. This average Westerner would be intrigued by someone’s ability to catch flies with chopsticks, and would probably say that has nothing to do with how good he is in combat. But the Oriental would realize that a man who has attained such complete mastery of an art reveals his presence of mind in every action...True mastery transcends any particular art.
After Lee abandoned the project, the original script was rewritten, replacing some violent scenes with comedic themes.
Cast list
- David CarradineDavid CarradineDavid Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
plays four separate roles as The Blind Man, The Monkeyman, Death, and Chang-Sha. - Jeff Cooper as Cord.
- Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as Zetan. - Roddy McDowallRoddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English actor and photographer. His film roles included Cornelius and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes film series...
as White Robe. - Eli WallachEli WallachEli Herschel Wallach is an American film, television and stage actor, who gained fame in the late 1950s. For his performance in Baby Doll he won a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination. One of his most famous roles is that of Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
as The Man-in-oil. - Anthony De LongisAnthony De LongisAnthony Charles De Longis is an American actor, stuntman, and choreographer.-Career:*De Longis is well known for his recurring role during the first two seasons of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager, as First Maje Jal Culluh, leader of the Kazon-Nistrim.*A very experienced swordsman, he is also...
as Morthond. - Earl MaynardEarl MaynardEarl Maynard is a bodybuilder and professional wrestler as well as a film actor, producer and director from Barbados.-Bodybuilding:Maynard won the 1964 Universe - Pro - NABBA bodybuilding competition - part of the Universe Championships, the 1965 Universe - IFBB - now the World Amateur Bodybuilding...
as Black Giant. - Erica Creer as Tara.
External links
- Circle of Iron at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...