Circle of Iron

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Circle of Iron

R

Released Jan 19, 1979

1h 42m

Adventure

Fantasy

Action

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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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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

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Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

Rated: 2/5

Oct 8, 2005

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Aug 21, 2005

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Mike W

The movie was hard to watch to it's finish. I wish I had done something else. The dialogue was so full of riddles it left one thinking who cares. Two birds locked together with 4 wings, but cannot fly, OK, deep.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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annette Z

a really weird movie

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/08/24

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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

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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

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Richard Moore

Director

David Carradine

The Blind Man

Jeff Cooper

Cord

Roddy McDowall

White Robe

Eli Wallach

Man-in-Oil

Erica Creer

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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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