There are surely people who might believe that Bruce Lee was turning around in his grave, after this was made. Yes Bruce Lee had this idea and he wanted to star in it (I'm guessing as Cord the main character on a journey, with quite a few flaws). Unfortunately he never lived to make his dream (?) project a reality. For some reasons Carradine thought he was meant to actually go ahead and make it a reality for him.

The two knew each other from the TV show and I reckon it might have been where Carradine heard about the idea. Unfortunately he bit more than he could chew. A lot more considering he played 4 parts in the movie and also helped produce it. The intention might have been good, but even his acting seems wooden at best. Never mind the unfortunately varying degrees of acting the main actor takes us through.

And while the director was especially unimpressed by that actors performance during the love making scene of the movie (almost no nudity as far as I can tell, didn't really paid attention or rather looked to hard),one might argue that to carry a movie, more things went wrong.

Now obviously you have to at least be open minded to certain philosophies to get into the mood of the movie. But the movie or rather its depictions of them is almost a mockery. And I know that is not its purpose, it is just the elements do not really work together. The big reveal in the end is even explained as if the viewer is quite dim witted and needed that. It is a shame and might only be good for "drinking games" (don't do this though) or just a plain let's have fun and depict every little thing about it viewing ...

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.

I'd been intrigued by this one for some time due its being based on a story concocted by Bruce Lee and James Coburn; when it emerged as a "Special Edition" via the Blue Underground label, I had considered purchasing the DVD but somehow never got around to it. Eventually, CIRCLE OF IRON (as it's better-known) was even expanded into a fully-loaded 2-Disc Set…but, then, I happened upon the original disc at a local rental outlet and finally decided to check it out.

As it happened, I was somewhat let down by the film: I'm all for exotic action/adventure stuff – a genre which got something of a revival during this era – but, despite the various trimmings (martial arts, mystical overtones, plus a number of rather superfluous cameo appearances by the likes of Roddy MacDowall, Eli Wallach and Christopher Lee),THE SILENT FLUTE came across as invincibly low-brow! Besides, while David Carradine is ostensibly the star (and even gets to play four different parts for no discernible reason!),the hero proper of the narrative was played a beefy protégé of his – Jeff Cooper – whose wooden performance here really drowned the film for me!!

The plot – the winner of a martial arts tournament is assigned the task of seeking the whereabouts of a famous wizard (played by horror legend Lee) who is in possession of an all-powerful book – sounds intriguing on paper but, to be honest, the way this plays out on screen it's not terribly compelling; worse still, the denouement is a real cop-out! That said, the numerous action sequences and Carradine's characterization of a blind shepherd (himself a martial arts champion) who guides Cooper on his danger-fraught journey make the film palatable for the most part.

Despite the obvious low-budget at his disposal, too, one-time-only director Moore (his more typical credit is as a cinematographer) lends the film reasonable visual style – accentuated by the expansive Israeli locations (which constitutes the film's main asset along with Australian composer Bruce Smeaton's beautiful score). As a matter of fact, Moore admits in the disc's Audio Commentary that the main reason that seemed to have gotten him the assignment in the first place was because his background as a cameraman assured (in the eyes of the producers, at least) outstanding visuals!

THE SILENT FLUTE is, ultimately, a hodgepodge of disparate ideas (with its most bizarre element being Wallach's masochistic "Man In Oil" and his diatribe on the virtues of a life without one's own genitalia!) which don't really jell and, consequently, it works only in fits and starts...