The Adventure Epic Written By Bruce Lee – His Dream Project He Would Never Live To See!

At the height of his international fame, the legendary Bruce Lee – along with his friend and student James Coburn and Oscar®-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant – began to write what he believed would be the greatest achievement of his film career. Five years after his mysterious death, Lee’s vision would finally be realized. David Carradine (KILL BILL), Christopher Lee (THE LORD OF THE RINGS), Roddy McDowall (PLANET OF THE APES) and Eli Wallach (THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY) star in this acclaimed cult hit that brings Lee’s personal philosophy to the screen with a still-potent combination of mysticism, humor and martial arts mayhem.

CIRCLE OF IRON – also known as THE SILENT FLUTE – has now been remastered from its original negative and features exclusive Extras that honor the legacy of Bruce Lee, including an all-new interview with David Carradine.

"The Most Elaborate And Most Beautiful Martial Arts Film To Ever Come Our Way!" –The New York Post

"Striking And Surrealistic!" –The Soho News

EXTRAS INCLUDE:
• Playing The Silent Flute: Interview With Star David Carradine
• Audio Commentary with Director Richard Moore
• Bruce Lee's The Silent Flute: A History By Davis Miller & Klae Moore (text essay)
• Alternate Title Sequence
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Poster & Still Galleries
• First Draft Script By Bruce Lee, James Coburn & Stirling Silliphant (DVD-Rom)
Bruce Lee and James Coburn conceived the story for this unusual blend of fantasy, martial arts adventure, and Zen mysticism that should please cult-movie collectors and action aficionados with a taste for the offbeat. The bland but serviceable Jeff Cooper stars as a lone warrior who sets out to find the mysterious Book of All Knowledge. He faces numerous physical challenges on his journey, chief among them David Carradine in four roles (including a half-man, half-monkey), as well as numerous philosophical conundrums. While the dialogue by Sterling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night) and Stanley Mann (Eye of the Needle) occasionally teeters into self-parody, the action and pace rarely lags, and the fine supporting cast, which includes Christopher Lee, Eli Wallach, and Roddy McDowall, lends a degree of gravity to the proceedings. One wonders how the film would have played with Lee in the cast (it had been a pet project of his for years, but was completed years after his death), but the end result is certainly watchable and entertaining. Blue Underground's DVD includes a wealth of extras, including a typically laid-back interview with Carradine, commentary by director Richard Moore, trailers and TV spots, an alternate title sequence, and, most intriguing of all, Lee's original script with Coburn and Silliphant (accessible only via DVD-ROM). --Paul Gaita

Customer Rating:
Summary: Martial arts/enlightenment
Comment: This movie based on a story by martial arts great Bruce Lee, is interesting,informative, and thought provoking. Having practiced martial arts myself, it struck a chord with me. Not so much, the fighting scenes in the movie, but the reasons for them. The movies ending was amazing to me, and even my wife, who is not into martial arts 'stuff' was impressed with this thought provoker.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Truly Weird
Comment: A project conceived by Bruce Lee and James Coburn. Carradine appears in a number of different parts -- in that aspect it reminds me of Kirk Douglas in the LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER. Quirky, odd with a lead who couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. For those who collect such things.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Mythical Martial Art Film
Comment: It's hard to kill a horse with a flute--The Blind man

Circle of Iron (or the Silent Flute) is an acting tout de Force for actor David Carradine. This is not KUNG FU the movie. This film he plays four different roles in Cord (the seeker's) Journey. The character of the Blind man, in my opinion, reminds me of Master Po from the Kung Fu TV show

The script originally was written by James (Our Man Flint) Colburn, Bruce (Enter The Dragon) Lee and Stirling (In the Heat of the Night, Route 66) Silliphant. On the DVD, you can read their original script in a DVD-ROM format. Lee was to play Cord, In my opinion, I wish he had

This mythical tale is a journey and quest for both the actors and the viewers alike. It is a challedge to watch and think about. Combining martial art ideals with Zen styling will leave the viewer either intrigued of baffled---or both!

They say a film is as good as its weakest link, Jeff Cooper is buffed for this role as Cord. However in my opinion, he has limited acting chops to handle the role is his solo scenes, including the romantic scene with Erica Creer. Thank goodness, for most of the film , he is flanked by cameos by veteran actors Christopher Lee, Roddy McDowell and Eli Wallach, who helps move to the story until Carradine character shows up again.

This film was Director Richard Moore solo film effort and it shows in someways. His audio commentary track is interesting and gives insights into the film unknown to many other than film buffs

This 30 year old film is still good today to enjoy
Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Circle of Iron
Comment: The quality of the media was excellent and the content was also excellent. I recommend this dvd to anyone who views life as a spiritual journey.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Film for the Philsophical Viewer - literally
Comment: It's been at least 20 years now since I first watched Circle of Iron as a teenager with a keen interest in the martial arts. A friend and I rented it from the local video store. We didn't really know what we were in for, only that it had been written by Bruce Lee and starred David Carradine of Kung Fu fame. I'm sure I didn't grasp nearly as much of what Lee intended to express back then. I think I get it a bit better now.

I'll be honest. By modern standards (and probably even those of that time, I would think), the fight scenes are rather poor. They are a bit overdramatized, the camera work isn't very good, and the general athleticism demonstrated is average. The sound effects are pretty typical of the era, meaning really bad by today's standard. If you can look past that, though, you may actually find yourself enjoying the film.

Overall, the cinematography reminds me a lot of the Conan films, though I don't think they same folks were involved in the shooting. I happen to like those movies, even if they were clunky in places, so take that for what it's worth.

If you like movies that make you think, then you will probably get something quite worthwhile out of Circle of Iron. Lee's intent was to explore and display elements of Zen philosophy and the film certainly does that. How much it keeps to Lee's intentions (from the original The Silent Flute script), I have no idea, but there's at least enough of it to make viewing a pleasantly thought-provoking experience. And there's a bit of comedy tossed in as well. :-)

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