Why the kung fu in Circle of Iron, from an idea by Bruce Lee, would have left him unhappy

Based on a script Lee abandoned, the 1978 film ended up a bizarre mix of poor martial arts and mysticism. An expert dissects what went wrong

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David Carradine (left) and Jeff Cooper in a still from Circle of Iron. The 1978 movie was based on a script Bruce Lee abandoned before his death, but ended up a bizarre mix of inadequate kung fu scenes and faux Eastern mysticism.

Published: 4:15pm, 3 Nov 2024

When Bruce Lee conceived the film The Silent Flute in the United States in the late 1960s, he intended it to explain the philosophy behind martial arts – and he thought it would make him a star.

Lee worked on the script with top screenwriter Stirling Silliphant and actor James Coburn, but it came to nothing, and Lee abandoned the project when he became famous in Hong Kong.

Silliphant, though, persevered and it was finally made as Circle of Iron in 1978. The result was a strange confluence of badly choreographed martial arts, faux Eastern mysticism and exotic fantasy sets.

The film, which was shot in Israel, featured unknown actor Jeff Cooper as Cord the Seeker, who has to pass challenges posed by a blind flute player to find the true secret of martial arts.

David Carradine, then best known for his starring role in the TV series Kung Fu, played the blind man and also Cord’s challengers the Monkey Man, the Rhythm Man and the Panther Man. This was the role that Lee had envisioned for himself.

We take a deep dive into Circle of Iron with Chris Poggiali, co-author of These Fists Break Bricks: How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World.