A warrior works his way across the desert in search of a holy book and its keeper in 1978’s CIRCLE OF IRON, conceived by Bruce Lee and directed by Richard Moore. Now with 4k UHD/Blu-ray Steelbook from Blue Underground.
Bruce Lee, the martial arts master, is often associated with the Circle of Iron. But Circle of Iron, also known as The Silent Flute, was released in 1978, and Lee died in 1973. WTF? Well, the film, ultimately written by Stirling Stilliphant and Stanley Mann, was based on an idea from Lee and James Coburn (to link in another known quantity) that he was working on when he died. And when I say that, it’s literal. He had a meeting about it the day he passed. But all that and how such a project attracted the names it did is highly detailed in the nice volume of features Blue Underground puts on this 4k & Blu-ray.
It’s odd to think the writer of this film was Stirling Silliphant, renowned for In the Heat of the Night, The Towering Inferno, and the Stallone magnum opus of Over the Top (!; yes, he had some not-so-strong flicks in there too). Seems not in his wheelhouse. Also odd to have Roddy McDowall and Eli Wallach. I’d say what is Christopher Lee doing here as well, but all know he’ll do anything he’s offered. The man wasn’t picky. But for a name as a writer, it’s rather generic. I can’t help but think Bruce Lee was really into Italian Hercules flicks when he started to work on it. Could easily have Mickey Hargaty and the silhouettes of Joel, Crow, and Tom in the corner making a good riff. As the features show, there was a mishmash of favors, neighbors, and connections and all that, with concept and interest from many a powerful figure.
Okay, it sounds like I’m railing hard, scoffing at Circle of Iron. I’m not. Is Circle of Iron a good movie? Debatable; it’s good enough. But it is what it is: a 60s-80s Barbarian adventure with a handful of famous names for a few scenes, and one across the film to bring in audiences. The skinny: barbarian Cord, played by Jeff Cooper, works his way across a mystical realm to seek a holy book, with vignettes of meeting all sorts of interesting and strange people and creatures, many of them played by David Carradine, most notably as a blind flutist. Roddy McDowall starts the film as the keeper of a tournament, which our hero shrugs off the rules (so he’ll learn his humility) and meets up with fellow fighter Morthond, played by character actor Anthony De Longis (Road House!) to find Christopher Lee’s Zetan. They, and eventually just him and whatever incarnation of Carradine, fight monkey people, bickering couples, a bratty kid and his family, a prince with a tempting wife, Eli Wallach in a pot of oil to remain chaste (what an odd scene), and Christopher Freakin’ Lee and a weird cult!
It’s all dumb fun. The fights are interesting, with choreography by Force Five’s Joe Lewis. David Carradine is having a damned good time (fun fact: the flute he plays in Kill Bill Volume 2 is the same one used here). Jeff Cooper, as the lead, is pretty awful, which makes for strange viewing in his anti-charisma. David Carradine is enjoying playing 4 or so different roles. For those who are “oh heck yeah, sword, sandals, and some magic,” you’ll enjoy it on some level.
The Packaging & Presentation
Blue Underground, via MVD, puts Circle of Iron on two discs: 1 4K UHD and 1 Blu-ray. They fit on either side of the fold-out Steelbook. Each disc has different art, matching the front and back of the steelbook. The inside is a still from the opening tournament. That steelbook has no words on it (pictured above), keeping the image nice. The title and information for the front and back are found on the plastic slipcover. Quite the nice package. Limited to 4000 copies and said to be only available via MVDShop.com
Circle of Iron gets a new 4k transfer from the 16mm original, sharp and detailed, using the on-location shooting to great design. A fine transfer all around. Audio is Dolby Vision and Atmos. In English with English subtitles.
The Features
Blue Underground/MVD updated the previous 2009 release (itself an update of the 2004 release). But it has more than just re-releasing the old Blu-ray and porting the film and some features to the 4K disc. New features are found on both, along with all the old features, except for the DVD-ROM first-draft script.
On both discs. Disc 1 has no exclusive features.
Commentaries
1 – Richard Moore (archival): Moore gives a good conversation with Blue Underground’s David Gregory. He gets into the ups and downs of the production, from Lee’s push to how it eventually came around, and all the moving parts that made it work. It’s Moore’s only film and seemed like an uphill battle, but he got it done.
2- Frank Djeng & Chris Poggiali (new): Whoo hoo! Another Frank Djeng commentary. The pair builds on the first commentary in the wider view, having a blast giving it a good ribbing while clearly enjoying the film. They get into all the details of the who’s who, more of the creation, and give a good chat.
Alternate opening (archival)
An opening with the Circle of Iron title (the print for the full feature has “Silent Flute”) and a text card detailing the journey from Lee’s idea to the release.
On Disc 2 only
Playing the Silent Flute (archival)
David Carradine talks about his process, moving into this film from similar work and filming in Israel. (14m)
Circle of Success (new)
Anthony De Longis, who plays Morthand, is a lot of fun to dig into the joys and troubles of the set, but mostly enjoys the process. Seems like the type of guy who can give stories for days. (18m)
The Producer (archival)
Co-Producer Paul Maslanasky gives a detailed, lengthy account of his storied career, up to and beyond this film. Like De Longis, he has so many stories, and I loved hearing them about the era and all the people he worked with and around, from cheapies to exploitation to Return to Oz. (30m)
Karate Master (archival)
Joe Lewis, the martial arts coordinator, talks about his career and how he worked on this movie. Like his lengthy interview on Force Five, a bit self-aggrandizing but interesting (29m)
Stirling Silliphant (1980, archival)
An utterly fantastic audio-only conversation with Silliphant. Silliphant gets into Bruce Lee and his plans, history, and how Silliphant became involved in this crazy venture. Great conversation straight from old Hollywood.
Promotional Material
Trailer, a series of TV spots, and a poster/stills gallery close out the disc
Final Thoughts
Circle of Iron is a film that works for what it is: a B picture of sword-and-sandals, in development by a true master of fighting before he died. Blue Underground and MVD give a great new transfer and a solid selection of features.