Tabu (film)

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Tabu
Tabu DVD cover
Directed by	F.W. Murnau Robert Flaherty
Produced by	Robert J. Flaherty F.W. Murnau David Flaherty
Written by	Robert J. Flaherty F.W. Murnau Edgar G. Ulmer
Starring	Anne Chevalier Matahi Hitu Jean Jules Ah Fong
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures (original U.S. release)
Release date(s)	August 1, 1931
Running time	84 min
Language	French
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Tabu (also called Tabu, a Story of the South Seas) is a 1931 film which tells the story of two lovers in the South Seas, who must escape their village when the girl is chosen as the holy maid to the gods. The actors are billed as Reri, Matahi, Hitu, Jean and Jules.

The movie was written by Robert J. Flaherty, F.W. Murnau and Edgar G. Ulmer. It was directed by Flaherty and Murnau. The title of the film comes from the concept of tapu (sometimes spelled tabu), a form of sacredness in many Polynesian cultures.

Tragically, Murnau was killed in an automobile accident on 11 March 1931, shortly before a preview screening of Tabu was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles.

Cinematographer Floyd Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on this film. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Tabu was restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and has been released on DVD by Milestone Films.

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Der Knabe in Blau (1919) • Der Januskopf (1920) • Abend - Nacht - Morgen (1920) • Satanas (1920) • Sehnsucht (1920) • Der Gang in die Nacht (1920) • Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin (1920) • Schloß Vogelöd (1921) • Marizza (1922) • Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) • Phantom (1922) • Der brennende Acker (1922) • Die Austreibung (1923) • Der letzte Mann (1924) • Die Finanzen des Großherzogs (1924) • Herr Tartüff (1926) • Faust (1926) • Sunrise (1927) • Four Devils (1928) • City Girl (1930) • Tabu (1931)

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau

Der Knabe in Blau (1919) • Der Januskopf (1920) • Abend - Nacht - Morgen (1920) • Satanas (1920) • Sehnsucht (1920) • Der Gang in die Nacht (1920) • Der Bucklige und die Tänzerin (1920) • Schloß Vogelöd (1921) • Marizza (1922) • Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) • Phantom (1922) • Der brennende Acker (1922) • Die Austreibung (1923) • Der letzte Mann (1924) • Die Finanzen des Großherzogs (1924) • Herr Tartüff (1926) • Faust (1926) • Sunrise (1927) • Four Devils (1928) • City Girl (1930) • Tabu (1931)