Image from The Cave of the Silken Web (1927). Courtesy of The Chinese Mirror.
Silent-era fantasy actioner based on a chapter from the classic novel “Journey to the West.” While on a pilgrimage to collect sacred Buddhist texts, monk Xuanzang and his three protectors Monkey King, Pigsy and Sandy are trapped in a spider cave and must escape from the clutches of seductresses intent on devouring the monk’s flesh to gain immortality. Directed by Dan Duyu and starring his wife Yin Mingzhu, the film’s depiction of the seductresses caused a sensation upon its release. At least one contemporary critic blasted the film as being pornographic, although the only evidence of impropriety that survives is at least one image of the seductresses wearing shorts. Forty years later, Shaw Brothers put their own, saucier spin on the same story in THE CAVE OF THE SILKEN WEB (1967), the final chapter to their “Journey to the West” trilogy.
AKA: Silk Coil Web, Spiders, Pan si dong, ηδΈζ΄
