Why So Blu?

Circle of Iron (4K UHD Blu-ray Steelbook Review)

Bruce Lee began developing the project under the title The Silent Flute with James Coburn and Stirling Silliphant with the intent to not make another straightforward fighting picture. Lee wanted to present martial arts as a struggle against fear, anger, vanity, and desire, with Coburn playing the seeker and Lee appearing as several figures along his path. The production collapsed, Lee returned to Hong Kong, and the screenplay was revived after his death with David Carradine and Jeff Cooper. Co-writer Stanley Mann softened its violence, added comedy, and moved the action into an imaginary world. The film was retitled Circle of Iron, although The Silent Flute remained its name in some international markets and later releases. What reached theaters in 1978 may not fully represent Lee’s original vision, but his philosophy is still there.

 

Film ★★★☆☆

Cooper plays Cord, an arrogant fighter who defeats his opponents while ignoring the rules and loses his chance to seek Zetan, keeper of a book believed to contain life’s ultimate truth. Cord goes after it anyway, convinced that enlightenment is something else he can conquer. He follows Morthond into the wilderness, meets a blind flutist who refuses to indulge him, battles the Monkeyman, faces temptation through Chang-Sha, and finally confronts Death. 

These episodes represent form, ego, desire, and mortality, the inner obstacles Cord has mistaken for outside enemies. Carradine plays nearly every important figure along the road, each one another piece of the same lesson. Cooper’s bluntness fits a hero who hasn’t learned to listen, while Roddy McDowall, Eli Wallach, and Christopher Lee add to the movie’s wonderfully crooked personality. The Israeli landscape gives the journey an almost biblical sweep, heightened by Bruce Smeaton’s grand score.

Circle of Iron has uneven action, wandering structure, and philosophy that occasionally arrives with the force of a punch. Even so, it’s funny, sincere, ungainly, and moving, and none of its oddness polished away.

Video ★★★★★

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)

HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10

Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1

Clarity/Detail: Ronnie Taylor photographed Circle of Iron on 35mm film with spherical lenses, and the production was completed through a traditional photochemical workflow for exhibition at 1.66:1. Blue Underground’s UHD comes from a new 16-bit 4K scan of the original camera negative, encoded on a BD-100 with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. There is outstanding clarity in the rough weave of the costumes, individual strands of hair, facial pores, Carradine’s varied makeup, and the weathered surfaces of the Israeli ruins. Optical material is naturally softer, but the underlying 35mm photography otherwise looks crisp.

Depth: Figures separate cleanly from the ancient architecture and sprawling desert backgrounds, while rocky passages, crumbling structures, and the film’s broad horizon lines carry a more convincing progression from foreground to distance.

Black Levels: Shadowed portions of the ruins and dimmer interiors retain gradations in clothing, faces, and surrounding stone, while the deepest areas of the frame provide a sturdy black floor.

Color Reproduction: Dolby Vision and HDR10 broaden the palette. Dusty earth tones of the locations remain dominant, but blue skies, green vegetation, colored robes, and accents of red, violet, and turquoise now possess greater density and separation. Sunsets and bright desert daylight also gain intensity while preserving natural highlight detail.

Flesh Tones: Complexions are warmer, more nuanced. Sun-baked faces retain believable variations in color and texture, and close-ups consequently look more lifelike.

Noise/Artifacts: A fine, lively grain structure runs through most of the presentation and is handled cleanly by the high-bitrate encode, with no obvious digital noise reduction, edge enhancement, banding, or persistent compression noise. Grain becomes thicker and definition drops during optical titles, transitions, and the solarized Death sequence, but those fluctuations originate in the production materials rather than the restoration.

Audio ★★★★☆

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos; English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit); English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono (48kHz, 16-bit)

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: The Atmos remix lends slightly greater force to the martial-arts effects, with the Blind Man’s flute strikes and other close-quarters blows landing more firmly than they do in 5.1. It remains limited by the comparatively lean 1978 source recording, but it’s still impressive.

Height: Overhead activity is present but used selectively, providing occasional elevation for the music and environmental texture instead of conspicuous effects flying above the listener. The presentation remains restrained rather than a showcase for Atmos.

Low Frequency Extension: Bass receives a modest increase in weight, giving fight impacts and musical peaks a sturdier foundation without producing particularly deep or room-shaking extension.

Surround Sound Presentation: Bruce Smeaton’s score benefits from the expanded field, reaching into the rear speakers and creating a broader atmosphere around Cord’s journey, while crowds, location ambience, and combat effects generate additional activity behind the listening position.

Dialogue Reproduction: Voices remain firmly anchored to the center speaker and are consistently understandable, although the recording retains the thin, occasionally coarse texture of its period.

Extras ★★★★★

This MVD Shop exclusive two-disc SteelBook is limited to 4,000 copies and features newly commissioned artwork beneath a clear slipcover containing the title and release information. The UHD and Blu-ray have individual artwork, while the interior displays a sepia-toned image from the opening tournament.

• NEW Audio Commentary #2 with Film Historian Frank Djeng and Chris Poggiali: This new track examines Bruce Lee’s involvement, the screenplay’s evolution, the Israeli locations, later Hollywood inserts, and the movie’s place within martial-arts cinema. 
• NEW Circle Of Success – Interview with Co-Star Anthony De Longis: Anthony De Longis recalls his theatrical and martial-arts background, being cast as Morthond, and working with David Carradine and Jeff Cooper.
• NEW Poster & Still Gallery
• Audio Commentary with Director Richard Moore: Moderated by David Gregory, this archival track covers Bruce Lee’s original concept, the production’s difficult development, filming in Israel, and Moore’s experience directing his only feature.
• Playing The Silent Flute – Interview with Star David Carradine: David Carradine discusses the project’s financing, playing four separate characters, developing the fight choreography, and filming in Israel.
• The Producer – Interview with Co-Producer Paul Maslansky: Paul Maslansky surveys his career from his early musical work through films such as Death Line, Sugar Hill, and Return to Oz. His Circle of Iron memories include the eight-week Israeli shoot, the cast, and his disappointment with portions of the action.
• Karate Master – Interview with Martial Arts Coordinator Joe Lewis: Martial-arts coordinator Joe Lewis discusses his competitive background, friendship with Bruce Lee, and efforts to strengthen the film’s fight scenes through additional footage and doubling.
• Audio Interview with Co-Writer Stirling Silliphant: Recorded by John Corcoran in 1980, this interview explores Silliphant’s friendship with Bruce Lee, Hollywood’s resistance to Lee as a leading man, and the project’s long development.
• Alternate Opening
• Trailers
• TV Spots

Summary ★★★★★

Blue Underground and MVD have given Circle of Iron a handsome restoration supported by a worthwhile assortment of supplements. Its peculiar mixture of martial-arts philosophy, fantasy, and low-budget adventure will not appeal to everyone, but the care invested in this edition is unmistakable. For admirers of the film, this release is an essential purchase.