@Modern Chinese Cultural Studies
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CAVE OF THE SILKEN WEB 盤絲洞 (Dan Do-yu 但杜宇, dir., 1927)
ABOUT THE FILM
Spiders, spiders-everywhere! "Cave of the Silken Web" is adapted from an episode in the Ming dynasty novel "Journey to the West," in which Tripitaka is kidnapped by a cave of spider-women. Will the good monk succumb to these magical vixens’ temptations of the flesh? Will Pigsy, Sandy, and the Monkey King succeed in rescuing him before he is forced to marry the Spider Queen? What does the Fire Slave have cooking for the unwilling guest? How do spiders, centipedes, and turtle-spirits celebrate a wedding? And who will ultimately meet their end in the Cave of the Silken Web?
This special effects-intensive silent film by the husband-wife team director Dan Do-yu and actor Pearl Ing premiered in Shanghai during the 1927 Lunar New Year holiday, and was exhibited overseas, including in Norway, where a partially-extant version was discovered in 2011. The restored copy presented here contains translations of both the Chinese and Norwegian intertitles, which do not match, and preserves the appearance of the Chinese intertitles, which are sometimes upside down, mirror image, or misplaced.
The extant portion of the film showcases the bold set design, performance, tinting, special effects, and other stylistic choices that silent filmmakers made in retelling Journey to the West, a work that has proven to be a perennial favorite of filmmakers and moviegoers alike. The 1927 film was successful enough upon its original release to inspire Dan and Ing to make an encore, "Cave of the Silken Web II" (Xu Pansi dong 續盤絲洞, 1930), which was released around the time the Nationalist government’s censorship authorities began cracking down on films that contained sexy, supernatural, or politically-incorrect content. While the 1930 film is thought to be lost, the Shaw Brothers Studio produced a musical "Pan si dong" in Hong Kong in 1967.
Pan si dong 盤絲洞
Alternative English titles: Cave of the Spider Women, Cave of Spiders
Norwegian title: Edderkoppene
Directed by Dan Do-yu (Dan Duyu) 但杜宇
Screenplay by Guan Ji’an 管際安
Adapted from the Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West 西遊記
Studio: Shanghai Shadowplay Company 上海影戲公司
Cast: Jiang Meikang 蔣梅康 (as Tripitaka), Pearl Ing aka Miss F.F. (Yin Mingzhu) 殷明珠 (as the Spider Queen), Wu Wenchao 吳文超 (as the Monkey King), Zhou Hongquan 周鴻泉 (as Pigsy), Zhan Jiali 詹嘉利 (as Sandy), Gu Yunjie 古雲傑 (as Fire Slave)
Silent film
Date of release: February 2, 1927
60 minutes (approximate, surviving excerpts)
Chinese subtitles translated by Christopher Rea
Norwegian subtitles translated by Bjørn Giertsen
Subtitles created by Liu Yuqing
Music composed and performed by Donald Sosin
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks to the National Library of Norway (Nasjonalbiblioteket), which made this restored digital copy and the English translation of the Norwegian intertitles made available to the Chinese Film Classics Project for free public exhibition. Christopher Rea translated the Chinese subtitles, which were created by Liu Yuqing.
The Chinese Film Classics Project produced this double-English-subtitled copy of the film and commissioned the musical soundtrack, which was composed and performed by Donald Sosin.
Funding for this project was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
The Chinese Film Classics Project thanks all of the people and institutions who made this production possible.
LEARN MORE
Learn more about Pearl Ing (Yin Mingzhu) in S. Louisa May’s article for the Woman Film Pioneers Project: wfpp.columbia.edu/pioneer/pearl-ing/
Watch the 1967 Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) color remake of Cave of the Silken Web: ua-cam.com/video/f2Wozoo92wE/v-deo.html
Watch more examples of special effects in early Chinese cinema: chinesefilmclassics.org/special-effects/
WEBSITE ON EARLY CHINESE CINEMA:
chinesefilmclassics.org
PLAYLISTS:
Chinese Film Classics: bit.ly/ChineseFilmClassicsPlaylist
Chinese Film Classics - ONLINE COURSE: bit.ly/ChineseFilmClassicsCourse
The Modern Chinese Novel - ONLINE COURSE: bit.ly/ModernChineseNovelCourse
Best of Early Chinese Cinema: bit.ly/EarlyChineseCinema
Sounds of Early Chinese Cinema: bit.ly/SoundsOfChineseCinema
Early Chinese Animation: bit.ly/EarlyChineseAnimation
How-Tos from Early Chinese Cinema: bit.ly/ChineseCinemaHowTo
(c) Christopher Rea