Circle of Iron: Steelbook – Blue Underground (4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1978
Director: Richard Moore
Writers: Stirling Silliphant, Stanley Mann
Cast: David Carradine, Christopher Lee, Jeff Cooper, Roddy McDowall, Eli Wallach, Anthony De Longis, Earl Maynard, Erica Creer

Release Date: August 25th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 43 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: R
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English, DTS-HD 5.1 English, Dolby Atmos English
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD, Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $59.95

"The Epic Adventure From The Mind of Bruce Lee - The Dream Project He Didn't Live To See!

At the height of his international fame, the legendary Bruce Lee (Enter the Dragon) - along with his friend and student James Coburn (The Great Escape) and Oscar®-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night) - began to write what he believed would be the greatest achievement of his film career. Five years after his mysterious death, Lee's vision would finally be realized.

David Carradine (Kill Bill), Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings), Jeff Cooper (Knife for the Ladies), Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes) and Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) star in this acclaimed cult hit that brings Lee's personal philosophy to the screen with a still-potent combination of mysticism, humor and martial arts mayhem." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Now Circle of Iron - also known as The Silent Flute - is presented in a brand-new restoration, scanned in 4K 16-bit from its original camera negative, with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, packed with new and archival Extras!"

Circle of Iron comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 74.2 GB

Feature: 68.5 GB

Blue Underground revisits another title 17 years after they released it on Blu-ray, and the result is a massive improvement over that release. The source looks excellent; flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, and contrast, black levels, image clarity, and compression are solid, and the image always retains an organic appearance.

Circle of Iron comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 41.7 GB

Feature: 27.1 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English, Dolby Atmos English), 4.5/5 ( DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, and a Dolby Atmos mix in English. All tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented. New to this release is the Dolby Atmos track, which is a solid track that’s more robust than the original mono track while remaining faithful to it. Included are removable English SDH and French and Spanish subtitles.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a US theatrical trailer (1 minute 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an international theatrical trailer (3 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an alternate opening (3 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with director Richard Moore, and an audio commentary film historian Frank Djeng and Chris Poggiali.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a poster & still gallery (81 images), TV spot #1 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #2 (33 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #3 (34 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a US theatrical trailer (1 minute 59 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an international theatrical trailer (3 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an alternate opening (3 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor David Carradine titled Playing the Silent Flute (13 minutes 58 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with producer Paul Maslansky titled The Producer (28 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with a martial arts coordinator Joe Lewis titled Karate Master (31 minutes 4 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio interview with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (25 minutes 26 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actor Anthony De Longis titled Circle of Success (18 minutes 6 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Richard Moore, and an audio commentary Frank Djeng and Chris Poggiali.

Other extras include steelbook packaging.

Summary:

Circle of Iron is the only theatrical film that Richard Moore directed. He’s most known for his work as a cinematographer on films like Myra Breckinridge, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Stone Killer, and Annie.

A warrior named Cord earns the opportunity to challenge a man named Zeta who guards a highly prized book known as the “Book of All Knowledge." Along the way, Cord will face several obstacles in his quest to obtain the “Book of All Knowledge." Will Cord defeat all those who stand in his way and will he finally find enlightenment once he gazes upon this mysterious book?

Circle of Iron originated as an idea conceived by Bruce Lee shortly before he achieved fame in Hong Kong as a martial arts superstar. When Enter the Dragon solidified his star power, Bruce Lee turned down a chance to make Circle of Iron. After the death of Bruce Lee, interest in Circle of Iron increased and, after many false starts, the film would be finally made.

Circle of Iron is more of a fantasy film than a martial arts film. While there is an abundance of action, unfortunately the fight scenes are fairly standard. That said, at its core, Circle of Iron is a film that tries to explain Eastern philosophies to Western audiences.

Circle of Iron’s main draw is David Carradine (Kill Bill), who portrays four characters: the blind man, monkeyman, Death, and Changsha. If Bruce Lee made Circle of Iron, these are the four characters he would have portrayed. David Carradine is Circle of Iron’s greatest asset and every role he plays stands out as one of the most memorable moments in the film, especially the blind man character.

The cast features several well-known actors, like Christopher Lee (Horror of Dracula) in the role of Zetan, Roddy McDowall (Fright Night), and Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly). While Christopher Lee and Roddy McDowall are woefully underused, Eli Wallach’s character delivers Circle of Iron's most memorable and humorous moment. The cast's weakest link is Jeff Cooper in the role of the protagonist Cord. Although he more than holds his own from a physical standpoint, he lacks the charisma needed to really sell the role.

The opening setup does a solid job drawing you in, and the narrative moves briskly as it effectively builds momentum to its big reveal finale. While Circle of Iron is a film with shortcomings, its positives negate its negatives. Areas where Circle of Iron excels are its picturesque visuals and Bruce Smeaton’s (Picnic at Hanging Rock) exemplary score. Ultimately, Circle of Iron feels like a missed opportunity and one has to wonder what might have been if Bruce Lee had made the film on his terms.

Circle of Iron gets an excellent release from Blue Underground that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of informative extras. Recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer