Review of Circle of Iron

Cocky young martial arts champion Cord (a likable, but underwhelming performance by Jeff Cooper) meets a bizarre assortment of people and faces several grueling challenges while embarking on a perilous journey of self-discovery to find the Book of All Knowledge. Director Richard Moore, working from a quirky and thoughtful script by Stanley Mann and Stirling Silliphant, relates the compellingly peculiar story at a steady pace, vividly evokes a colorful fantasy world, and stages the exciting occasional martial arts fights with a good deal of flair and skill. While this movie does suffer from Cooper's wooden acting in the lead, fortunately David Carradine compensates for this flaw with his bravura work in four highly distinctive roles as a wise, yet lethal flute-playing blind man, a ferocious monkey man, a fearsome tiger-like death figure, and hearty dessert warrior Changsha. Popping up in nifty bits are Roddy McDowall as the stern judge of a martial arts tournament, Christopher Lee as enigmatic bookkeeper Zetan, and, in a very funny turn, Eli Wallach as some crazy guy who's happily dissolving his lower body in a tub of oil. Stunning brunette Erica Creer contributes a memorably sultry portrayal of lovely and enticing seductress Tara. Ronnie Taylor's striking cinematography sharply captures the breathtaking beauty of the Israel locations. Bruce Smeaton's gracefully melodic score hits the harmonic spot. Best of all, the provocative Zen philosophy at work throughout gives this picture an extra unique quality and comes complete with a profound central message about the ultimate source of true enlightenment. An intriguing one-of-a-kind oddity.