The Silent Flute
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The Silent Flute is an unproduced screenplay written by Stirling Silliphant, Bruce Lee, and James Coburn in 1969. Although it has never been published, copies are available through private collectors. A version of the script, however, was released as the 1978 film, Circle of Iron.
After completion of the script, while scouting for shooting locations in India, a heated argument broke out between Coburn and Lee, resulting in a distancing of the two. The project was put on hiatus, and a few years later, when Coburn offered to restart production as director, Lee was preoccupied with other films and refused.
[edit] Story
The Silent Flute tells the story of Cord, (to be played by Coburn) a martial artist who seeks "The Book," which is said to contain the ultimate truths of fighting. Every five years a competition is held to pass it on to another person. When he finally obtains it, he has no need to look inside, the journey itself being his enlightenment. Along the way he has to fight four battles with characters each representing a different aspect of his weakness - all to be played by Lee:
- Changsha (Rhythm Man) - a skilled martial artist, he travels with several players of musical instruments. His greatest asset is broken rhythm, which he uses to confuse opponents.
- The Monkey Man - a fighter who is known to gouge out eyeballs. The fight is brutal, and it unites Cord with his animal instincts.
- Death (Panther Man) - represents the fear of death within man. A fierce growl signifies his entrance into the story.
- Ah Sahm - a blind flute player and martial artist. He meets with Cord at different points, and it is learned that he is not an enemy but rather a physical projection of Cord's enlightened self. An especially disturbing scene involves Ah Sahm killing a child, saying that he would have grown up to be a tyrant.
After Cord has proven himself, he meets with the book's current holder, Yamaguchi. All the competitors attempt to defeat him, but it is not until Cord enters that he discovers the secret. An intense stare-down ensues, and Yamaguchi tells him that the highest form of fighting is no fighting at all, and he presents him with the book.
Although never filmed, a number of concepts present in The Silent Flute can be seen in later movies and television such as on the show Longstreet. In the pilot episode, written by Silliphant, James Franciscus plays a blind investigator who meets Li Tsung, played by Bruce Lee. He teaches him to embrace his animal instincts and "learn the art of dying," an idea borrowed from the Panther Man character. In addition, some dialog is used in Enter the Dragon, as well as the uncompleted Game of Death.
The Ah Sahm character seems to be based on Al-Khidr, a Qur'an figure. Specially, Cord's trip with Ah Sahm is very similar to Al-Khidr's trip with Moses, where he damages the ship, kills a child, and restores the damaged wall, and later, explains his 3 actions to Moses.[original research?]
[edit] Circle of Iron
After Lee's death, the script was rewritten by Stirling Silliphant and Stanley Mann. A film was produced in 1978 with Richard Moore directing called Circle of Iron. It starred David Carradine playing the Lee roles as well as a guest appearance by Eli Wallach. The film bore little resemblance to the original script.
Years later, Bruce's son Brandon Lee showed an interest in making a more faithful version, but he died before having a chance to do so.
