Review: Circle of Iron (The Silent Flute)

Cord (Jeff Cooper, who looks like a sort of cross between pro-wrestler Ric Flair and Whitesnake’s David Coverdale) enters a contest in which a warrior will be chosen to go on the quest to find a Book of Enlightenment from the infamous Zetan. Unfortunately, Cord is a bit of a loudmouth and after being kicked out of the tournament, he decides to follow the tournament victor (Anthony DeLongis) anyway. Good thing, because the champ doesn’t last long on the quest anyway. So, on his journey Cord goes, bumping into all manner of strange characters including; a blind martial artist (David Carradine, in a role originally intended for Bruce Lee) fond of confounding Confucius-style sayings, a Monkey Man (Carradine again), moustachioed warrior Chang-Sha (some guy named Carradine, I believe), and even an animalistic interpretation of Death himself (Carradine once more). In one inexplicable encounter, he meets The Man in Oil (Eli Wallach, who is not named David Carradine you will notice), who is apparently trying to remove his sexual organ in the slowest and most bizarre manner possible. Roddy McDowall plays the tournament head named simply White Robe, and Christopher Lee turns up at the end as you guessed it, Zetan.

 

Based on a story by actor James Coburn (“The Magnificent Seven”, “The Great Escape”, “Affliction”) and his martial arts mentor/friend Bruce Lee, this Stirling Silliphant (“In the Heat of the Night”, “The Poseidon Adventure”, “Shaft in Africa”) co-scripted oddity from 1979 is a truly one-of-a-kind cinematic experience. Directed by Richard Moore (a cinematographer in his only full-length directing gig), I’m just not certain I can whole-heartedly recommend it, let alone call it a good movie. No one seems to know for instance, whether the mystical Zetan’s name is pronounced Zee-tan, Zay-tan, Zee-tanh, or Zeet-in. Seriously, it gets pronounced every which way during the course of the film. It’s a mostly entertainingly silly film at any rate, with Carradine terrific in several roles, and several familiar character actors offer able support. Eli Wallach is genuinely hilarious in a weird segment that surely wasn’t conceived by Lee and Coburn. Meanwhile, when Christopher Lee’s Zetan finally shows up, he’s not at all what one expects after all the hype. The normally imposing, often nefarious Lee interestingly projects a pathetic, sad quality to the character. It’s a shame he is such a late arrival, but although Lee is no Bruce Lee (He’s not a martial artist for a start) the casting of the long-time villain to play such an ultimately non-threatening character is really clever. I suppose you could argue that David Carradine’s casting is a bit on the nose given it was originally an Asian actor intended for the part, but if you’re gonna cast a non-Asian, the guy from “Kung-Fu” is a pretty understandable choice. I especially liked Carradine’s take on the monkey character, it’s quite eccentric.

 

Unfortunately, lead actor Cooper is an absolute dud in the lead role, with the charisma of a black hole. He’s so stiff he makes Sam J. Jones and Miles O’Keeffe seem like Sir Ben Kingsley and Daniel Day-Lewis. It’s a shame James Coburn didn’t end up sticking around on the project, he was apparently one of the people considered for Cooper’s role. If there’s anything Coburn could bring to a film it was charisma – and obviously pretty considerable acting talent too.

 

Scripted by Stanley Mann (“Eye of the Needle”, “Conan the Destroyer”, “Sky Riders”) and Silliphant, it’s worth a look if you want to see something (loosely) based off an idea by Bruce Lee and James Coburn. It’s the damndest thing, whatever you make of its technical quality. Well-shot by cinematographer Ronnie Taylor (“Tommy”, “Gandhi”, “Opera”), with excellent scenery throughout and a majestic music score by Bruce Smeaton (“Picnic at Hanging Rock”) are other highlights.

 

Rating: C+