The Cave of the Silken Web (1927 film)

The Cave of the Silken Web (traditional Chinese: 盤絲洞; simplified Chinese: 盘丝洞; pinyin: Pan Si Dong) a.k.a. Journey to the West - the Spiders Cave (西遊記-盤絲洞; 西游记-盘丝洞) a.k.a. Spiders is a 1927 Chinese film directed by Dan Duyu and starring Yin Mingzhu as the first spider spirit. It is based on an episode of the shenmo fantasy novel Journey to the West, a Chinese literary classic written in the Ming Dynasty.

The ten-reel silent film was produced by Shanghai Yingxi Company.

It was thought to be a lost film until 2011, when an original copy of The Cave of the Silken Web was discovered in the archives of the National Library in Mo i Rana, Norway. The film was presented at the 2013 Films from the South festival in Oslo. Roughly three-quarters of the film is preserved, the first reel and a section in the middle is lost. The Norwegian copy has retained the original Chinese intertitles, but includes additional jokes in Norwegian written for the local audience.

Cast

Yin Mingzhu as First Spider Spirit
Xia Peizhen as Second Spider Spirit
Wu Wenchao as Sun Wukong
Jiang Meikang as Tang Sanzang
Zhou Hongquan as Zhu Bajie
Dan Erchun as Sha Wujing
He Rongzhu as Man In White
Chen Baoqi as Yellow Flower Daoist Spirit

Sequel

The film was followed by a sequel in 1930 titled The Cave of the Silken Web II (續盤絲洞; 续盘丝洞; Xu Pan Si Dong), a.k.a. Spiders II, also directed by Dan Duyu and starring Yin Mingzhu. The sequel is believed to be a lost film.