Help me figure out a movie title of a movie I saw when I was like 9

[Quixote1818]

years old back in the 70's on TV. I don't remember much about it accept their were a bunch of people searching for a book that supposedly had 'All The Answers' in it. I remember it having an appearance of like knights or barbarians who were frantic about finding this book! At the end someone finally finds it and opens it and all he sees is his reflection in the mirror. Every page in the book was a mirror and what the book was saying was that mankind had all the answers to the mysteries of the universe, we just had to learn to extract them, that all we had to do was look within ourselves.

Thats all I remember and the dam movie has stuck out in my brain for close to 30 years yet I still don't know it's title.

I HAVE TO FIND OUT THE TITLE OF THIS MOVIE!!! Please someone help me!!! A friend remembered the movie and thought it was called something like "Ring of Irons" or something like that. I did a search and found nothing under the title he mentioned.

Can anyone help me? Surely someone knows what movie I am talking about!!!

[Lars39]

1. Name of the Rose?

That doesn't sound right. Was Sean Connery in it?

[Quixote1818]

2. I don't remember any of the actors. nt

[The Traveler]

3. No. But that was a wonderful flick! (n/t)

[lenidog]

4. Name of the Rose was the 80s and had nothing like that in it

[Lars39]

5. Had something to do with laughter at the end.

I fell asleep. :)

[lenidog]

7. It wasn't the most of exciting movie

[uppityperson]

6. I don't know but have sent emails to friends who might.

I'll check back tomorrow, see if anyone here knows and let you know if I get a response. I have no idea but I hate things like this. earworms are bad enough but mostly forgotten movies are the pits.

[Quixote1818]

8. Thanks for your effort! I have wondered about that movie for years now!

I really want to see it again.

[lenidog]

9. I know what you mean

Mine was a ghost movie that I saw as a kid whose ending disturbed me to know end. It wasn't really frightening but the concept was disturbing to me. I never knew the title and couldn't find it until I discovered a true story on which the movie had been based. While looking through the web site they mentioned the movie and I finally got to watch it all the way through.

[Mythsaje]

10. Circle of Iron

Starred David Carradine...more or less. He played like 5 different roles through the movie. From the flute player to the Lord of the Monkey-men.

My dad and I argued about our interpretation. I tended toward your interpretation, my dad said that it meant we shouldn't believe everything we're told.


*edited to add a paragraph.

[Quixote1818]

12. Is it a good movie? nt

[Mythsaje]

15. I liked it

It was a bit surreal, and some of the fight choreography was a little choppy, in my opinion, but it was mystical and interesting.

[Quixote1818]

13. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! This is it for sure!! See link

http://www.learmedia.ca/product_info.php/products_id/517

I absolutely have to rent this movie!!!

A young martial artist competes for and wins the right to go on a quest for the Book of All Knowlege held by a wizard named Zetan. Along the way, he meets strange enemies and allies--often having difficulty determinimg which is which.


BRUCE LEE inspired and co-wrote this martial arts epic of savage action, beauty and fantasy.

DAVID CARRADINE stars as a mysterious blind man (the role originally intended for Lee before his tragic death) who leads a young fighter on a quest for Truth.

Marital arts expert JEFF COUPER is outstanding as Carradine’s young disciple who must face several dangerous combats and sensual temptations before ending his journey.

The international cast also includes ELI WALLACH, RODDY McDOWALL, CHRISTOPHER LEE and beautiful ETICA CREET, one of the world’s most celebrated models.I

t’s triumphant adventure and a lasting tribute to the genius of BRUCE LEE.
(from cover)



viewer's comments:


- The more you see it, the deeper it gets
I loved this movie. I loved just about everything about it. It has the perfect mix of philosophy, humor and martial arts. It's not, as far as I'm concerned, a martial arts movie.

It's an attempt to explain Eastern teachings to Western audiences. Whether it succeeds or not, depends on your attention span and how carefully you're watching. This is NOT a movie to watch while doing other things.

My favorite scene in the movie is Eli Wallach, who plays the man in oil. He's sitting in a cauldron in the middle of the desert, punishing himself for his own lust. Too funny.

I highly recommend this movie for anyone looking for something deep and different.


- A movie for the mind, with insight
If all you are looking for is to see someone get their butt kicked this is not your movie. In any adventure the journey is as important as the destination, and this is true for the martial arts. The movie may not be what it could have been if Bruce Lee had finished it, but it is what it is and that is not a bad thing either. I have my students watch it every few years and we discuss at length what goes on and most are surprised at how much more they see from the last time.



- circle of iron
this is a mystically inclined adventurous journey of the meaning to life having purpose and fullfillment based on helping one another find the way to enlightenment,which the teacher(the blind man),and the student/venturer of meaning(cord)do. they use their opposite individualities to conjure up a unique and unforgettable partnership,which eventually becomes a true friendship at the end which is the result of understanding each other better and allowing each other's contrasting views to coincide to develop into the unique zenforce/fighting team that they become. the scenic background is a desert based atmosphere,whether it's israel or palestine.this type of setting coupled with the compelling music make this a landscape monument for the uniquely inclined deeper striver of zen/buddhism and enlightenment. like other's on imdb have mentioned,this is not a typical bloodsport,kickboxer or streetfighter type of flick.it's a picture that illustrates and exemplifies a deeper meaning to the journey one has with fullfilling they're search for martial arts based enlightenment. must be seen several times to really understand.unless you're a good listener and attentive viewer you wont appreciate it enough the first time you check it out.that's why i recommend that you watch it at least twice.once for yourself and the other time with a friend. for it's creativity and deeper meaning of martial arts based enlightenment i give this one a 9/10 rating.



- "Nothing is Self..."
This film is outstanding. The level of camp it displays works well with the oddly exotic Israeli background it was filmed upon. This film is mistakenly classified as a "martial arts" film, and subsequently knocked for Jeff Cooper's lack of grace and skills. "Circle of Iron" has its flaws in direction but shines in its eccentricity, cast, zen precepts, and Cord's awakening that "there is no meaning in life except the meaning that man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers".



- A beautiful film version of the Qur'anic story of Moses and Khezr, filmed in the deserts of Palestine
The plot of this film is based in detail on the famous story in the Qur'an (Sura of the Cave) of the "initiatic trials" and teaching of the young Moses by the mysterious "divine servant" who is identified in later Islamic tradition as "al-Khadir" (Khezr/"The Green One"), the mystical messenger and guide who remains eternally on earth (much like the figure of Elijah in Jewish mysticism). The film was apparently filmed in the deserts of the Dead Sea region, which heightens the effect and connection with this archetypal Qur'anic episode--one of the most celebrated sections of the Qur'an, constantly reinterpreted and discussed throughout the classics of Sufism and Islamic mysticism.



- Cord searches for Zetan and the Book and finds a Teacher.
If you are looking for a Steven Segal-type martial arts movie, you will not find it here. This movie is about the philosophy of Kung Fu. It is done with humor as well as unique action and drama.

Each year, in a martial arts contest, someone wins the right to seek out Zetan and the Book of Enlightenment. During that search, the seeker will face many trials that are severe. Not all will succeed.

Though Cord, a man with no school, wins the fight, he is disqualified because he has broken several rules, and another is chosen. The Chosen one, however does not succeed in facing the first trial and sends Cord in his place. Before the first trial, Cord meets a blind man who becomes his teacher. It is as if this man is actually seeking for someone like Cord. The blind man plays a flute that only Cord can hear. The flute is also a staff that aids the blind man.

A special note: David Carradine learned to make bamboo flutes and he made the flute the blind man carried. In fact he made three for the movie.

The movie is filled with imagery and lessons on life and enlightenment. Thought as you watch it a second and a third time, it becomes more clear that there are Two seekers. Even a Teacher can still be a Seeker and a Seeker can also be a Teacher.



- The meaning of martial arts
"Circle of Iron" is a movie that looks beyond the action of martial arts into the mystique and philosophy associated with it. It was originally intended to be made by Bruce Lee, but he died before it could be brought to the screen, so David Carradine steps in to fill the role.

How well the movie accomplishes it's goal depends on how seriously you take eastern philosophies. It's all too easy to watch a few minutes of it and dismiss it as some weird barbarian movie with lots of karate. It is decidedly low budget.

However, if you watch the movie and *listen* to what it's trying to tell, it's extremely engrossing, as it addresses questions and concepts that all of us wonder about at some time or another.

The man making the journey in this movie, "Cord," is acceptable, if a rather generic role. David Carradine plays several roles, but his most striking is that of an eerie blind man who fights off his opponents with a hollow staff that whistles as he twirls it.

This is a hard movie to find, but it does crop up sometimes on late night TV or cable, and is worth checking out.



- An odd, but truly remarkable epic of the martial arts genre.
On a lower end of the movie spectrum, CIRCLE OF IRON has astounding production values that never seemed quite possible. This is based on the inspiration of Bruce Lee, and while it is brought up with martial arts imagery, it is actually a long, adventurous, everlasting, passionate, yet odd journey about a fighter who searches for his own destiny. Odd, you ask? What's odd are the encounters of unusual people, places, things, and events designed to complicate one's trip. David Carradine has four multiple roles, one of which is Jeff Cooper's martial arts master. It is noted that Lee was destined to play the role a few years before this ever got made, and just before his untimely death. Erica Creer's stunning beauty scorches up the screen and teases your mammaries in showing off her left backside, and she won't stick around for long. Classified as a martial arts movie, do not expect this to be an all-out gang war because it is high on craftsmanship and drama, plus it should be best described as a tale of epic proportions. CIRCLE OF IRON still doesn't reign supreme, and it isn't the single greatest piece of work Lee had come up with, but it challenges moviegoers to discover the secret ways of Lee's powerful telling of the martial arts legend. A probable common classic of its kind.

http://www.learmedia.ca/product_info.php/products_id/517

[tkmorris]

11. Could it be this one?

Prospero's Books (1991)

I can't imagine seeing that at 9 years old, but it does have a book of mirrors as a central theme.

http://petergreenaway.co.uk/prospero.htm

[Quixote1818]

14. No, but that looks like an awesome movie.

It was this one: http://www.learmedia.ca/product_info.php/products_id/517

Someone above knew the movie.

[6000eliot]

16. If you like naked people

There are literally hundreds of naked people in every scene.

[uppityperson]

17. Results, none are it but all sound interesting

Probably not but these sounded interesting to varied friends:

Orgy of the Dead, A Masterpiece of Erotic Horror!

Fearless Vampire Killers, The
Who says Vampires are no laughing matter?

Asphyx, The
If It Were In Your Power...Would You Sacrifice Your Wife...Your Children For Immortality? This Is The Story Of A Man Who Did

Mr. Sardonicus
A man of evil... with a face that could stop a heart!


"Ankle Biters". This would mean midget vampires.

I wonder if it was a made-for-tv movie. Was it a kids movie?

[Deja Q]

18. The Never Ending Story or The Phantom Tollbooth?

?


(likely the former title rather than the latter...)