Circle of Iron

Written by the legendary Bruce Lee and actor James Coburn, Circle of Iron was intended to be the ne plus ultra of martial arts movies, the one against which all others, before and after, would be judged. Sadly, Lee didn't live to see the project completed. More spiritual than the average “chop socky” movie, Circle of Iron tells the tale of Cord (Jeff Cooper), who sets out on a quest for enlightenment in search of a sacred text held by Zetan (Christopher Lee), encountering ass-kicking opportunities along the way, as well as colorful characters, including a blind Zen master (David Carradine) who becomes his mentor, a beguiling desert nomad temptress (Erica Creer), and a bizarre man (Eli Wallach) who has vowed to remain seated in a barrel of oil until his lower body dissolves and falls off (ewww!). Although Lee's longtime friends and martial arts students Coburn and Stirling Silliphant (an Oscar-winning screenwriter) were instrumental in getting the film made in 1978, cinematographer Richard Moore (in his only directorial outing) fails to find the right rhythm for the episodic story, ends up staging clumsy fight scenes (rendered nearly incoherent by poor editing), and is unable to elicit a good performance from tyro leading man Cooper. Of course, Circle of Iron positively teems with unintentionally hilarious moments, so it's not a total loss—but it's certainly a misfire. DVD extras on this double-disc set include audio commentary by Moore, interviews (with Carradine, Silliphant, co-producer Paul Maslansky, and martial arts coordinator Joe Lewis), an essay on the film's origins, a poster/stills gallery, and a DVD-ROM accessible first draft script. Not a necessary purchase. (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—July 21, 2009—Blue Underground, 97 min., R, $34.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1978's Circle of Iron features a nice transfer and a 7.1 DTS-HD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Richard Moore, interviews with star David Carradine (14 min.), screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (25 min.), co-producer Paul Maslansky (30 min.), and martial arts coordinator Joe Lewis (31 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a minor cult fave makes a solid debut on Blu-ray.]