David Carradine Fills Yet Another Kung Fu Role
I’ve said this many times in my life and my writing that there are actors that fit roles. Pacino or De Niro in gangster, Karloff in horror, etc. David Carradine is another. Take your pick of a wandering wise kung fu practitioner and put David Carradine in it. He will almost convince you he is a Shaolin monk all the while you know he is fully American. Circle of Iron casts David Carradine in such a role. A bamboo flute is his only companion until the lead role becomes his puppy. He walks the earth blind, plays the flute, and wins fights with his weapon of choice, his flute. Cryptic philosophy is his standard dialog too.
Bruce Lee’s Involvement in Circle of Iron
As mentioned above, Carradine plays an Asian well although he is in no way such. The funny thing about Circle of Iron is that Bruce Lee co-wrote it before he passed away in 1973. Take a guess at which role was his. Wandering-wise blind flute player doubling as a kung fu master, your guess? You got it right. The very role David Carradine took was that designed by and for Bruce Lee. Bruce could beat several men using a bamboo flute. Who knows, he might even be able to do it hoodwinked too.
Another Big Name in Circle of Iron, Christopher Lee
Speaking of actors, this movie also has the late Christopher Lee in it. He’s another that can play any gothic horror role that Hammer Films could dream up and play better than anyone. Bela Lugosi was the only person that played Count Dracula better than him. Lugosi was responsible for coining the cinematic version of this character. Circle of Iron has Christopher Lee in the role of a sage of some sort who guards a book. The main character is on a quest to obtain this book and defeat Lee’s character in combat. He learns though, that Christopher Lee’s character doesn’t fight, and the book isn’t what he expects. Christopher Lee probably made more money than any cast member and was on screen for an estimated 5 minutes.
Overall Impression of Circle of Iron
Should someone ask for a general idea of what Circle of Iron was like, I would present the following answer. Imagine if you will Marc Singer, Dar from The Beastmaster, on a kung fu quest set in the land of Conan the Barbarian. Pepper in some Mortal Kombat, Game of Death, or whichever Chinese Kung Fu film you want. Come from the approach to martial arts that philosophy is the focus and certainly not how well you fight, and viola! You have seen Circle of Iron. From deserts to forests to lands I would expect to find in Star Wars, Cord’s quest takes him all over the place.
Going back to the “land of Conan”, this movie was filmed in Israel and there are a lot of desert settings. I often felt like I was in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre too. Throw in odd tents appearing for the lead role to encounter 1 of the 3 roles played by David Carradine, and you think you’re in the 60s. I mean, you are in the mindset of someone who lived in the 60s and put stamps on their tongues. Far out is an understatement for some parts of this movie. I thought a mirage was a palm tree and a pool like in old cartoons. These mirages give you karate tournaments, kings, all his wives, one of them assigned to test you, and the water to go with it. You still wake up baking in the sand though.
The Book Holds an Interesting Idea
Spoiler alert here but, the book guarded by Zetan does hold an interesting truth. Every page in the book is a mirror. It is supposed to contain all of the world’s wisdom and knowledge. Anyone that knows anything about traditional martial arts knows they come with a philosophy. Watch an interview with Bruce Lee and it’s like you’re watching David Carradine in any of his wandering wise man roles. The difference between Carradine and Lee was that the latter was the real deal. This book presented a Bruce Lee influence on the film. The source of enlightenment, knowledge, and wisdom is held within ourselves. Will we release these things in our lives? Is it something we will share with others? Self awareness is the overall idea of this film if you ask me.
I Miss You Bruce Lee, Your Genius is Unmatched
We will never know but, I imagine Circle of Iron would be a lot better if Bruce would have been around. Bruce Lee was a perfectionist and wouldn’t have let this movie settle as it did. The fighting choreography is some of the worst I have ever seen. Lee would have made sure the kung fu was on point for sure. Blood wasn’t something there was a lot of and when there was, it was very fake. Gore wasn’t what I was looking for in this film but, I did expect a little better action. I finished the film only because I knew Lee had something to do with it and I wanted to watch out of respect for him. Circle of Iron is dedicated to him and this scrolls along the opening screen. I miss Bruce for many reasons.
Closing This One Out
I certainly will not watch this one again. If I have time and want to watch a movie featuring Bruce Lee, I’m going to the classics. Enter the Dragon and Game of Death for me. I’ll put my watch time into something I know and can depend on. I don’t regret watching Circle of Iron, it just makes me wonder what it could have been. You can read another review of this movie by Phil Mills here. IMDB always has good reviews, and you can find them here.
I would love for you to link up with me on social media and to visit my website. You can find links to all of my social medial accounts, my website, my blog, etc. here. While you’re on my site, sign up for my mailing list. I’m interested to know your thoughts on this movie. If you’ve seen it, leave your thoughts in the comments. How do you think it would have been different if Bruce Lee would have been involved?