Circle of Iron (1978)

Director:

Richard Moore

Writers:

Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) and
Stanley Mann (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 July 1978 (France)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Challenge Of A Lifetime...

Plot:

A young martial artist, Cord the Seeker, competes for and loses the right to go on a quest for the Book of All Knowlege held by a wizard named Zetan...

Plot Keywords:

Blood | Caveman | Chop Socky | Sex | Fight To The Death

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

David Carradine	...	The Blind Man / Monkeyman / Death / Changsha
Jeff Cooper	...	Cord
Christopher Lee	...	Zetan
Roddy McDowall	...	White Robe
Eli Wallach	...	Man-in-Oil
Anthony De Longis	...	Morthond (as Anthony de Longis)
Earl Maynard	...	Black Giant
Erica Creer	...	Tara
Michael M. Vendrell	...	Martial Artist (as Michael Vendrell)
Leo Whang	...	Martial Artist
Donnie Williams	...	Martial Artist
Robert Gardner	...	Martial Artist
Tom Ascensio	...	Martial Artist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heinz Bernard	...	Gerryman (uncredited)
Vincent Di Paolo	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Larry S. Dratch	...	Arena Announcer (uncredited)
Dov Friedman	...	Young Monk (uncredited)
Jeremy Kaplan	...	Monkeyboy (uncredited)
Elizabeth Motzkin	...	Japanese Woman (uncredited)
Ronen Nabah	...	Beautiful Boy (uncredited)
Michal Nedivi	...	Boy's Mother (uncredited)
Bobby Ne'eman	...	Thug Leader (uncredited)
Zipora Peled	...	Gerryman's Wife (uncredited)
Kam Yuen	...	Red Band (uncredited)
Nissim Zohar	...	Boy's Father (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Moore

Writing credits
Stirling Silliphant		(screenplay) and
Stanley Mann		(screenplay)
Bruce Lee		(story) &
James Coburn		(story) and
Stirling Silliphant		(story)

Produced by
Sandy Howard	....	producer
Paul Maslansky	....	producer
Zvi Spielmann	....	associate producer
Richard R. St. Johns	....	executive producer (as Richard St. Johns)
Alex Massis	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bruce Smeaton

Cinematography by
Ronnie Taylor

Film Editing by
Ernest Walter

Casting by
Ann Hunter Bell

Production Design by
Tambi Larsen

Costume Design by
Lilly Fenichel

Makeup Department
Moni Mansano	....	makeup artist (as Moni Manzano)
Tom Smith	....	makeup artist
Michael Westmore	....	makeup artist (as Mike Westmore)

Production Management
Terence A. Clegg	....	production supervisor (as Terry Clegg)
Gadi Levy	....	production manager (as Gad Levy)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nissim Lvy	....	assistant director (as Nissim Levy)

Art Department
Zion Kobi	....	construction manager (as Zion Koby)
Jacob Kotzky	....	assistant art director (as Yaako Kotzky)
Graham Sumner	....	property master

Sound Department
Ken Barker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Cyril Collick	....	sound mixer
William Trent	....	sound editor (as Bill Trent)
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Ray Caple	....	mattes

Stunts
Terry Leonard	....	stunt coordinator
Joe Lewis	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mike Stone	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Eli Ben-Ari	....	still photographer
Danny Ben Menahem	....	gaffer (as Dany Ben-Menahem)
Eddie Collins	....	assistant camera
Simon Ransley	....	camera operator
Shimon Sabach	....	key grip
Ian Smith	....	clapper loader

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Betty St. Clair	....	costume manufacturer
Rochelle Zaltzman	....	wardrobe mistress (as Rochelle Saltzman)

Editorial Department
Christopher Lloyd	....	assistant editor (as Chris Lloyd)
Noel Rogers	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Quinn Donoghue	....	unit publicist (as Quinn Donaghue)
Beth Fishman	....	production secretary
Joe Lewis	....	martial arts coordinator
Jean Skinner	....	script supervisor
Carmela Spencer	....	production coordinator
Kam Yuen	....	martial arts coordinator

Production Companies

• Sandy Howard/Richard St. Johns Productions

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Blue Underground (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2009) (USA) (video) (Blu-ray)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (video)
• Rank Film Organization

Other Companies

• Israfilm Ltd.  production services (as Israfilm)
• National Screen  titles
• Volare Productions  production services furnished by

Also Known As:

The Silent Flute

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:15 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Norway:18 | USA:R | Norway:15 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Bet Shean, Israel

Company:

Sandy Howard/Richard St. Johns Productions

Trivia:

During the filming of the fight sequences, David Carradine's nose was broken twice, his toe gouged and knee hurt.

Quotes:

Chang-sha: Have you eaten? Where's your drink? Your hand is empty.
Cord: Peace.
Chang-sha: [laughs] Don't wish it on me. The whole world is in commotion and you wish me peace! I don't know what peace is, I don't want it. Don't you listen to the desert? Even when there's no wind the sand sings.
Cord: My name is Cord.
Chang-sha: Ha! You see? Cord!
[laughs]
Chang-sha: Play a Cord, strike a Cord? Even your name is a noise! What do you want, Cord? You want us to play on you? My wives can make your skin sing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Well, I liked it.

This is a silly movie and not for those who want credibility, realism, SFX, CGI, or The Rock. But, it is about some of the more exalted aspects of what it means to seek the limits of what you can do with a combination of your spirit and your self. Karate, kung-fu, la savate... they're all just ways to fight. This film is for those who know that ways to fight are stepping stones to something greater. It follows a man who does not know, but who is learning, that punching and kicking merely create freedom to explore and to learn; the benefits of his quest will come from something more than his physical self can achieve.

It's not a great movie, but it addresses great questions and, if you look at it through the lens of metaphor, it can point you towards an answer or two. As well as that, it's a punctuation mark--if not a prose passage--from the '80s era of movies that asked us to keep believing things we knew were probably not true, but would be oh-so-cool if they were.