The Silent Flute
| Circle of Iron | |
|---|---|
Circle of Iron film poster
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| Directed by | Richard Moore |
| Produced by |
Sandy Howard Paul Maslansky |
| Screenplay by |
Stirling Silliphant Stanley Mann |
| Story by |
Bruce Lee James Coburn Stirling Silliphant |
| Starring |
David Carradine Christopher Lee Jeff Cooper Roddy McDowall Eli Wallach Anthony De Longis Earl Maynard Erica Creer |
| Music by | Bruce Smeaton |
| Cinematography | Ronnie Taylor |
| Edited by | Ernest Walter |
| Distributed by | AVCO Embasssy Pictures |
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Release date
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25 July 1978 |
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Running time
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102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Circle of Iron is a 1978 martial arts fantasy film co-written by Bruce Lee, who intended to star in the film himself, but died before production. The film is also known as The Silent Flute, which was the original title of the story conceived by 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 movie begins with a martial arts tournament, in which fighters are competing for the right to begin a quest to challenge Zetan (Christopher Lee), a famous wizard who possesses a special book of enlightenment that is supposed to contain all the world's wisdom. Arrogant brawler Cord (Jeff Cooper) defeats every opponent, but is disqualified for fighting dishonorably. Cord decides to follow the eventual winner Morthond (Anthony de Longis), hoping that he can lead him to Zetan.
While the two fighters are resting, a blind flutist (David Carradine) walks by them and into a nearby building. Cord follows the blind man and sees him easily dispatch a gang of thugs who attacked him. Impressed by his fighting skills, Cord asks the blind man to be his teacher. The blind man refuses; Cord follows him anyway, but gets frustrated with the way the blind man teaches his lessons in riddles and they soon part ways.
Cord finds Morthond wounded from the first trial. Morthond asks Cord to help him end his suffering and pursue his quest to find Zetan. Cord does, and faces a tribe of monkey men whose leader (David Carradine) is a great fighter. Cord challenges and eventually overcomes the Monkeyman, who then tells him how to find his second trial.
On the way, Cord encounters a man in a large cauldron of oil (Eli Wallach), who is attempting to dissolve the lower half of his body. The man is hoping to end his sexual urges to find enlightenment, and invites Cord to join him, but Cord immediately leaves.
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Wikipedia