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Circle of Iron

Play trailer Poster for Circle of Iron R Released Jan 19, 1979 1h 42m Adventure Fantasy Action Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
43% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In a mystical desert kingdom, young martial arts fighter Cord (Jeff Cooper) loses a contest to determine who will journey to take the powerful Book of All Knowedge from Zetan (Christopher Lee), an evil wizard. Despite his lack of a sponsor, Cord's rule-breaking nature leads him to try retrieving the book anyway. Help is offered by a mysterious blind man (David Carradine) who gives advice as Cord fights his way through multiple opponents, discovering more about himself as he gets closer to Zetan.
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Circle of Iron

Critics Reviews

View All (7) Critics Reviews
Times (UK) Staff Times (UK) The hardest work, however, was done in the sound dubbing studio, making all those back-slapping whip-cracking, bone-crushing noises. Jul 14, 2020 Full Review Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Without Lee's charisma or guidance, the movie never sparks to life. Jul 6, 2007 Full Review Ryan Cracknell Movie Views Five years after his untimely death, Lee's vision project was finally made. Whether or not it's truly his vision, the world will never know. One thing is for sure though - this is one confusing, self indulgent and often tedious film. Jun 10, 2007 Full Review Bill Gibron PopMatters By downplaying the physical and emphasizing the cerebral (or in some cases, the spiritual) Lee was looking to take the genre to another level. For that alone (Circle of Iron) is very important. Rated: 3/5 May 24, 2007 Full Review Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Rated: 2/5 Oct 8, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 21, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (96) audience reviews
annette Z a really weird movie Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/08/24 Full Review lance c A really neat movie written by Bruce Lee & James Coburn. It is highly dialogue driven and starts slow, but it was a lot of fun to watch. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Unfairly panned. Great story, beautiful scenery and photography, and pretty much everyone BUT the star (Jeff Cooper) was very good, Carradine was great in a variety of roles and even Jeff had a few good moments. Despite its faults, one of my favorite movies. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Despite the fact that this taken from a treatment of Bruce Lee and stars David Carradine and some pretty reputable stars it is bad. It is ambitious in its attempt to philosophically transcend being a mere fantasy film it fails. The acting is bad. The Directing is bad. The fight choreography is horrible. I would have to believe Bruce Lee's vision for this project exceeded this product. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie tells the tale about a hero named Cord (played by Jeff Cooper) & his quest to find a Book of Knowledge. The quest takes him through a journey filled with fun, drama, danger & passion. Along the way he encounters weird characters & challengers (some which were played by David Carradine), making for an interesting & thought provoking movie. Ironically, it is the journey itself which will end up being his source of knowledge & wisdom. In the end he manages to wrest the book from its keeper, the wise Zlatan who relinquishes the book. Here is where Cord end up learning his important lesson. Despite the subpar fight scenes & theatrical costumes & settings, the movie delivers good entertainment via the acting, dialogue & overall storytelling. I highly recommend it to die hard movie fans. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member If you watch it with Mary Jane it is awesome! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Circle of Iron

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Movie Info

Synopsis In a mystical desert kingdom, young martial arts fighter Cord (Jeff Cooper) loses a contest to determine who will journey to take the powerful Book of All Knowedge from Zetan (Christopher Lee), an evil wizard. Despite his lack of a sponsor, Cord's rule-breaking nature leads him to try retrieving the book anyway. Help is offered by a mysterious blind man (David Carradine) who gives advice as Cord fights his way through multiple opponents, discovering more about himself as he gets closer to Zetan.
Director
Richard Moore
Producer
Paul Maslansky, Sandy Howard
Screenwriter
Stirling Silliphant, Stanley Mann
Production Co
Sandy Howard/Richard St. Johns Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Adventure, Fantasy, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 19, 1979, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 6, 2017
Runtime
1h 42m
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