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THE
CAVE OF THE SILKEN WEB
AKA:
N/A
Year:
1967 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
As
we pick up the adventures of our travelling heroes, we find
them stumbling upon a mystical area of land inhabited by
witches known as the 'Seven Spiders'. Unfortunately for
them, the witches believe that eating the flesh of a monk will
grant them immortality so they become hell-bent on separating
the monk from his protectors. Of course, Monkey is
extremely skilled in magic and fighting so the witches know he
is the major obstacle but utilising the weaknesses of Pigsy
they manage to entrap the monk. With a seemingly
unbreakable web surrounding the witches lair, its up to the
Monkey to devise a cunning plan to free his master so that the
scholar may continue his epic journey to the west.
The
numerous tales of the Monkey King have always made for
intriguing cinema and the Shaw Brothers series (made up of 'The
Monkey Goes West', 'Princess Iron Fan', 'Cave Of The
Silken Web' and 'The Land Of Many Perfumes') is certainly one
of the finest incarnations of the classic saga to date.
'Cave Of The Silken Web' is the third part in the series and
arguably the finest, mainly thanks to newly found fluidity
within the storytelling that is now combined with the superb
casting, striking sets and outrageous effects that have
remained stable factors throughout it's predecessors.
Chou
Lung Chang picks up the reigns as the Monkey King for this
movie (replacing Yueh Hua) and proves himself just as capable,
putting in an extremely energetic leading performance that is
complemented perfectly by Paang's comic relief as Pigsy.
Along with them, we have the added bonus of the seven witches
for this part who all bring their own unique traits to their
respective roles and possess suitably eccentric powers.
Special effects and action are also a vital ingredient within
this fantastical legend and both are extremely well
represented here. Obviously considering the time period
they are fairly basic but the dated special effects certainly
add a nostalgic feel whilst the limited action retains an
innocent charm.
If
you're in the mood for a crazy adventure filled with amusing
characters and extraordinary ideas then you can't go far
wrong with any of the films in this quartet. This
particular part is easily my favourite and, as with most Shaw
Brothers productions, is expertly constructed with a timeless
approach to filmmaking.
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