Circle of Iron

Rating:
Summary: Philosophy as a Fist
Review: 1979. HBO is still struggling to make it. It's 2:30AM, am I'm
up watching cable because it's a new toy and I'm half drunk. 'Circle of Iron' is on.

I'll admit I probably couldn't appreciate the iconagraphy back then, but I did understand the visuals were meant to signify other things. Eli Wallach enjoying a bath of boiling oil sticks out in particular. Every battle the main character fights is meant to open his awareness.

Battle as education. Probably better than any other technique we're using now, from the looks of things.

Rating:
Summary: Well plotted but fairly long storyline.
Review: Back in the eighties, when I first saw the movie, I was stunned that a fairly unknown actor was playing the main character of Cord while David Carradine was seen more of a supporting role, but then I began to understand the underlining msg that Carradine's characters brought forth. The most memoriable sub-story was when Cord and the Blind Man entered a village that honored a young and handsome boy as a prince based only on his physical beauty and the outcome after Carradine's intervention. This scence was a very astute perciption of how our society, as a whole, deal with the young and beautiful. While the Pink Floydd movie The Wall is considered to be a must see for true rockers, the Circle of Iron should be a must see for serious martial artists that are on the journey towards enlightenment versus martial artists that only journey for competition thropies.

Rating:
Summary: Bruce Lee / David Carridine
Review: I AM SO HAPPY THAT SOMEONE IS FINALLY GOING TO RELEASE CIRCLE OF IRON aka. THE SILENT FLUTE BY BRUCE LEE THE KING OF GUNG FU. I DID HAVE THE VHS YEARS AGO AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO BUYING THE DVD AS SOON AS IT IS AVAILABLE.

I'M ALSO GLAD THAT CARRIDINE IS DOING AN INTERVIEW AND THAT THERE WILL BE A TRIBUTE TO BRUCE LEE. IT IS REALLY NICE WHEN THEY PUT THOSE EXTRA GOODIES ON DVDs.

BRUCE LEE WAS AND WILL FOREVER BE AMAZING. HIS GUNG FU HAD ITS BIRTH IN THE WING CHUN STYLE OF GUNG FU UNDER THE TEACHING OF YIP MAN THE LATE GREAT GRAND MASTER OF THE WING CHUN SYSTEM.

I RECENTLY PURCHASED ANOTHER DVD ON AMAZON DOT COM CALLED WING CHUN THE SCIENCE OF FIGHTING BY LEGENDARY MASTER WONG SHUN LEUNG. MASTER WONG WAS A SENIOR STUDENT IN YIP MANS WING CHUN SCHOOL AT THE SAME TIME WHEN A YOUNG BRUCE LEE CAME ALONG. BEING SENIOR STUDENT MASTER WONG WOULD OFTEN BE CALLED UPON TO LEAD THE CLASS BY GRAND MASTER YIP MAN, THEREFORE, YOU CAN SAY THAT BRUCE LEE LEARNED QUITE A BIT FROM THIS GREAT WING CHUN MASTER.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH OF THESE DVDs TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN BRUCE LEE AND THE ORIGIN OF HIS JEET KUNE DO WHICH HAD ITS BIRTH IN THE WING CHUN SYSTEM.

Rating:
Summary: A tribute to Bruce Lee's Genus
Review: I own the VHS version of this film. Now I am going to be able to enjoy the movie without the degradation. THANK YOU to whoever finally made this possible.

Taken from the Back Cover of the VHS copy.

"Bruce Lee inspired and co-wrote this martial arts epic of savage action, beauty and fantasy.

David Carradine stars as a mysterious blind man (the role originally intended for Lee before his tragic death) who leads a young fighter on a quest for Truth.

Martial arts expert Jeff Cooper is outstanding as Carradine"s young disciple who must face several dangerous combats and sensual temptations before ending his journey.

The international cast aslo includes Eli Wallach, Roddy McDowell, Christopher Lee and beautiful Erica Creer, one of the most celebrated models.

It's a triumphant adventure and a lasting tribute to the genus of Bruce Lee."

Rating:
Summary: You Get To See David Carradine As A Monkeyman!
Review: Just a few years ago when dvd just started getting big in the market, I, like many other people was excited. I was worried however that many obscure, older films would never get the dvd treatment. Coz at that time, only the big blockbuster snoozefests like Armageddon were coming out on dvd. Over the years I've been proven wrong however, and it's the fault of companies like Blue Underground. It's nice to know there are people in high places who like these kinds of films too. And because of them I get to see long lost favorites of mine like Shock Waves and Conquest get first class dvd treatments-even if the films aren't first class. Circle Of Iron is one of the newest of this bunch. I was surprised to see this come out. Even the vhs had been long out of print, but hey, if if Breakin' 2-Electric Bugaloo can be released, anything's possible. If Bruce Lee could see how his idea turned out, I'm not sure how impressed he would be(having yet another of his roles taken by David Carradine!), but I like this movie. "Cord" sets out on some quest to find this famous bigshot(Christopher Lee) who guards a sacred book that everyone wants to look at. The book is supposed to bring higher enlightenment or something, it's never clearly defined. Lee's character is assumed by Cord to be some kind of ultimate martial arts expert that Cord will have to fight in order to check out this book. As he sets out on this quest(he doesn't even earn the privilege to go on the quest, he kinda cheats his way into it) he must go through a set of "trials"-all of which include David Carradine in one way or another. Carradine's in Dr. Stangelove mode here, playing four different roles-a flute playing blind man(who Tarantino obviously modeled "Bill" after), a bizarre monkey/human fighter, a warrior playboy type and Death himself(a character that should have had more than one scene. He's actually kinda creepy). There's an awful lot of Zen philosophy that obviously reflects Bruce Lee's personal philosophies. These are considered merely "riddles" by our open-minded hero, Cord. I don't believe I've seen this Jeff Cooper guy in any other film. He spends the entire film with Robert Plant hair, topless, and just thoroughly arrogant. A great time capsule of a movie, it's just too bad Lee had to die before he could make his dream project the way he wanted. The extras consist of all the regular stuff like galleries and trailers, plus a 13+ minute interview with Carradine and an essay on Bruce Lee and his ideas for the film. Apparently Carradine enjoyed making this film more than any other. It shows. Thanks again to Blue Underground for realizing there are people out there who aren't interested in buying Armageddon on dvd.

Rating:
Summary: Extras and All Around Amusing Movie Worth a Glance
Review: This cult film starring David Carradine and Jeff Cooper is a fantasy/martial arts adventure trying to mix Eastern philosophy, particularly Zen Buddhism, into a film that enlightens and entertains. This is a strength in the film and a weakness. First, David Carradine does a fine job playing four different parts originally written for Bruce Lee (Lee cop-wrote the story). As the flute player Carradine is great, delivering his lines well and being a believable character. The other parts he is not so formulate, but all in all, enjoyable enough for the movie.

Jeff Cooper (Cord), however, is not a very good "seeker." Besides a couple one liners here and there, he just is not believable as the seeker. This in part due to average acting ability and v his martial arts skills, or the lack there off, is extremely noticeable for the role. This is not to say Carradine is a great martial artists, he is not, but he is able to pull it off - Cooper is not. Lastly, Cooper got teh role when it was first casted for karate legend Joe Lewis(as least rumored so). Lewis would have been a much better fit and it would have naturally brought up the martial arts fight scenes to an acceptable and more enjoyable level.

The film quality is good, the sound track a little too much 70s TV sounding, but the sights are great, while the martial arts sequences are lacking technique and excitement. The movie, however, is a good guilty pleasure. It has enough fortune cookie philosophy to instruct, but not to be taken too seriously (after all, the movies thesis, discovered at the end of the movie, logically fails). The movie has much of Bruce Lee's fighting philosophy (good) and Zen philosophy (muddled at best) and the movie is escapists enough to bring about a learning, yet, entertaining evening.

The three stars largely ride on the extras. The interview David Carradine is nice as well as the history in the development of the movie. Lastly, though the movie is advertised as "Circle of Iron" because that was its release title in the US, it was nice to see the producers of the film, open the movie with its original title, "The Silent Flute": the title Bruce Lee intended. The story was written by Bruce Lee, James Coburn, and Stirling Silliphant.


Rating:
Summary: at last!
Review: This film represents to me the challenge and spirit of karate. I've recommended it to groups who have not studied karate for the spirituality and philosophy. And it has great action sceens! If you are truly brave, listen to the blind flute player and have the courage and humility for the student and teacher to learn together.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie !!!!
Review: This is overall an excellent philosophical movie even if some of the actors lines are a bit corny. All I can say is when is someone going to publish THE BOOK(that everyone seems prepared to die for).