Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
August 1, 1931Release Date
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
August 1, 1931Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
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Media.
Details.
Release DateAugust 1, 1931
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 26m
Content RatingNR
Filming LocationsTahiti, France
Genres
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This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, sometimes simply called Tabu (pronounced [ˈtapu]), is a 1931 American 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 both the sound-on-disc and 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".