Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
July 30, 1931Release Date
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
July 30, 1931Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently Tabu: A Story of the South Seas is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video
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Cast & Crew.
Matahi
The Boy
Anne Chevalier
The Girl (as Reri)
Bill Bambridge
The Policeman (as Jean) / Assistant Director
Hitu
The Old Warrior
Jules
The Captain (uncredited)
F. W. Murnau
Director / Screenplay / Producer
Hugo Riesenfeld
Original Music Composer
Robert Flaherty
Producer / Screenplay
Floyd Crosby
Director of Photography / Camera Operator
David Flaherty
Assistant Director / Associate Producer
Edgar G. Ulmer
Production Manager / Screenplay / Supervising Editor
Martha Dresback
Negative Cutter
Arthur A. Brooks
Editor
Media.
Details.
Release DateJuly 30, 1931
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 26m
Content RatingNR
Filming LocationsTahiti, France
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (pronounced [ˈtapu]) is a 1931 American synchronized sound film directed by F. W. Murnau. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using the Western Electric Sound System sound-on-film process. A docufiction, it is split into two chapters: The first, called "Paradise", depicts the lives of two lovers on a South Seas island until they are forced to escape the island when the girl is chosen as a holy maid to the gods. The second chapter, "Paradise Lost", depicts the couple's life on a colonised island and how they adapt to and are exploited by Western civilisation. The title comes from the Polynesian concept of tapu (spelled tabu in Tongan before 1943), from which is derived the English word "taboo".
The story was written by Robert J. Flaherty and Murnau; with the exception of the opening scene, the film was directed solely by Murnau. This was his last film; he died in a hospital after an automobile accident on March 11, 1931, a week before the film's premiere in New York City.
Cinematographer Floyd Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work. In 1994, Tabu: A Story of the South Seas was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".