Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931) User Reviews

An Innocent and Tragic Love Story in the South Seas

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 27 December 2006]

Chapter 1 - Paradise: The youngsters Matahi and Reri are in love for each other. When Reri is chosen by the old warrior Hitu to be the god's maid, she must stay virgin and untouched, otherwise her lover and she should die. But Matahi abducts and escapes with her to an island ruled by the white man, were their gods would be harmless and powerless.

Chapter 2 - Lost Paradise: Matahi is an excellent diver, getting many pearls from the bottom of the ocean, but he does not know the meaning of money, promoting a feast to the villagers and signing the bills the smart Chinese businessman presents to him. Meanwhile Hitu chases them, and Matahi and Reri decide to buy a ticket to travel by ship to another place. However, the Chinese charges the bill and Matahi, without any money, goes to a forbidden sea with sharks trying to get a huge pearl to pay for his debts and escape with Reri. But she decides to leave the island with Hitu and spare Matahi's live. But Matahi swims after their boat, dying of exhaustion in the sea.

"Tabu: a Story of the South Seas" is an innocent and tragic love story. The movie practically does not have any professional actor or actress, and the cinematography is very impressive, considering the type of equipment available in 1931. The landscapes are wonderful, the underwater sequence is amazing and the love story ahead of time. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Tabu"

A cinematic poem

[tomgillespie2002 · 8/10 · 26 August 2014]

The brainchild of German genius F.W. Murnau and documentary innovator Robert J. Flaherty (of Nanook of the North (1922) fame), Tabu uses the beautiful, untouched landscape of the South Pacific and employs non- professional natives to tell the beautiful story of love found and lost, and ultimately the death of paradise. Murnau died in an automobile accident shortly before the film's premiere and, thus, was his last gift to the movie-going world. Though it doesn't come close to the iconic expressionist horror of Nosferatu (1922) or the dark, satirical humour of The Last Laugh (1924), Murnau's epitaph is a simple, yet heart- wrenching cinematic poem.

The best spear-fisherman on Bora Bora is a handsome young man billed simply as The Boy (Matahi). His legendary status and unparalleled skill makes him popular amongst the islanders, and soon he has caught the eye of The Girl (Reri - who went on to star on Broadway as Anne Chevalier). They romance each other, but their affair is soon halted by the arrival of emissary The Old Warrior (Hitu), who proclaims Reri as the sacred maiden. She is 'tabu', and cannot be looked upon by any man unless he wishes the punishment of death. The couple brave storm and sea to escape, an arrive in a French-colonised island, where Matahi start work as a pearl diver. But their happiness is fleeting, and Reri is soon haunted by the image of Hitu, terrified she may have angered the gods.

The plot is hardly anything new, but Floyd Crosby's Oscar-winning cinematography makes Tabu more socially aware that the film may have you believe. The subtle yet crucial involvement of the French colonists, finding amusement at Matahi's lack of understanding regarding money and material wealth, is a clear swipe at the creeping of Western civilisation. Bora Bora won't stay pure for much longer. And that adds a gravitas to Matahi and Reri's plight - not only is their romance doomed, but so are their traditions and society. It is one of the last great silent films, a reminder that sound can be an unnecessary distraction, and that picture's can sometimes genuinely speak louder than words.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Farewell, Murnau

[gavin6942 · 8/10 · 30 April 2014]

In one island of Bora Bora lagoon, a young fisherman, Matahi, is in love with Reri. But she is chosen to be the holy maid and therefore becomes "tabu". They ran away from that tradition. Will they be happier and luckier in the more "civilized" society?

Sadly, this was to be F. W. Murnau's last film. Despite a short life, he made many great films (including this one)... and then came a car accident that left us without another three or four decades of genius.

On the bright side, cinematographer Floyd Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on this film. Crosby went on to work for a great many years, bringing out the best in such directors as Roger Corman. In "Tabu", he uses the camera to tell a story without words -- body language and eye movement tell us almost everything we need to follow the plot.

The film was not a box office success upon release, grossing just $472,000 worldwide, which failed to recoup Murnau and Paramount's investment. This seems odd today, when it is considered a classic, but there is no secret that critically successful films and commercially successful films are not always the same thing.

The Image DVD features commentary by film historian Janet Bergstrom, which is quite excellent. Other editions feature other commentary, but I have not heard it and cannot compare.

Murnau's final film is a fitting reminder of his genius

[rkinsler · 9 April 2003]

For discerning fans of classic filmmaking, the surviving work of director F.W. Murnau remains some of the most significant and stunning of the silent era. Filmed entirely in Tahiti, `Tabu' would prove to be Murnau's last film (he died in a tragic car accident on March 11, 1931, just weeks before the film's premiere) and most unusual - he actually collaborated with director Robert Flaherty (`Nanook of the North') in this tale of two doomed lovers that unintentionally transports `Romeo and Juliet' into the South Pacific. Unlike his landmark expressionist titles such as `Nosferatu' and `Faust,' Murnau's `Tabu' is set mostly outdoors and features dazzling images of beautiful young native men and women at home in their Polynesian paradise in the first part of the film, with haunting images used to chronicle tragedy and paradise lost in the second half of the 81 minute classic.

Although no members of the cast were professional actors, the performances by Matahi (as a young pearl fisherman) and Reri (as the `tabu' island girl) are moving. More than 70 years after its release, `Tabu' remains essential viewing, and UCLA's restoration of this classic has been a highlight of the schedule of new DVD releases in 2002. In fact, the film's luxurious black-and-white cinematography garnered cameraman Floyd Crosby an Oscar. DVD extras include audio commentary by UCLA Film Professor Janet Bergstrom; outtake footage; theatrical trailer; still gallery; short film titled `Reri in New York.'

Unique, Compelling, Haunting - A Very Great Work of Art!

[bragant · 10/10 · 31 March 2010]

A tale of forbidden love, TABU is best-remembered today as legendary German director FW Murnau's last film - he was killed in a car accident only one week before its New York premiere. Murnau had been working in Hollywood since the mid-1920s, and had already directed several films in the United States, but of these, only the famous SUNRISE (1927) was a success. By 1930, Murnau had become tired of the Hollywood system and was thinking about returning to Germany, but a timely introduction to Robert F. Flaherty - at that time famous as the director of the classic documentary NANOOK OF THE NORTH - sparked an ill-fated collaboration that resulted in this gorgeous, hypnotic and unforgettable film.

At first, Murnau and Flaherty intended to produce a "Nanook-style" documentary of Tahiti and its people, but several problems intervened: Flaherty and Murnau turned out to have radically different ideas about film-making in general and this project in particular; Flaherty's skills as a cinematographer were not up to the task and another DP had to be called in; and Flaherty's working relationship with the domineering Murnau fell apart when - instead of being co-director as the two had agreed - Flaherty found himself spending most of his time in the lab developing Muranu's film. Only one scene directed by Flaherty remains in TABU - the opening spearfishing sequence - and sad to say, the quality of this scene is no match for Murnau's exquisite footage. In addition, Flaherty decided that he hated the story - he found it too Westernized and fairy-tale-like. After a period of mutual discontent, Murnau bought out Flaherty, sent the entire Hollywood crew back to California, and took over the project completely - even training Tahitian natives in film-making techniques so he could employ the locals as his crew. With the exception of Anne Chevalier - a local French/Tahitian woman whom Murnau discovered performing in a bar in Bora Bora - the entire cast and crew save Murnau and his cinematographer was made up of nonprofessionals.

The film which resulted from this choice is a unique hybrid of documentary and fiction, with a mythic, fantasmatic air about it that is very hard to define - there is no other movie like TABU. Certainly, the fact that we are watching actual Tahitian natives going about their daily business rather than professional actors lends the film a patina of authenticity and realism which makes it impossible to categorize TABU as some sort of Western-colonial-white people's fantasy of the South Seas - in fact, the film's depiction of tribal culture is quite complex and thought-provoking, as we will see...

The plot of TABU is diagramatically simple - the idyllic lives of a Bora Bora fisherman (called Matahi) and his beloved, Reri (Anne Chevalier) are destroyed when tribal elders decree that Reri is so perfect a specimen of local womanhood that the gods have selected her for the honor of becoming their sacrificial victim. Reri immediately becomes TABU - forbidden - to Matahi as she must come before the gods untouched by man. Not surprisingly, Matahi disagrees with the gods' choice. He kidnaps Reri and the two flee to a neighboring island where they believe they will be safe. Unfortunately, this particular island has been taken over by Western civilization and thus the innocent Matahi and Reri have to navigate some very unfamiliar and peculiar customs - like debt and credit. Matahi begins working as a pearl diver, but he is unable to understand money (or handle liquor) and is threatened with violence when he cannot repay a debt. The couple flee once more, desperate for a safe haven, but they do not find one. Matahi and Reri's lives become more and more insecure and in due course of time, the tribal elders track them down anyway. Realizing that the only choice they have is to return to the world they know, Reri resigns herself to her fate, but will Matahi accept the inevitable? A mere plot-summary cannot fully express what TABU is like as a visual and intellectual experience. The film's treatment of native culture is extremely complex - unlike the "noble savage" cliché so popular among Western audiences and seen most recently in AVATAR, Murnau's Bora Bora seems like Eden on the surface, but is governed by a rigid code of conduct which squashes individuality and personality. Matahi and Reri's innocent love is doomed from the beginning, as they are caught between two worlds and unable to find a place in either. Ultimately, the beauty and simplicity of tribal life in Bora Bora - so seductive to the eye and ear in the first part of the film - is shown to be a soul-destroying deathtrap governed by superstition and groupthink. Of course, Murnau depicts the Western system as being no better - European civilization is shown as not much more than drunken, greedy, exploitative artifice out to rape the entire world for a fast buck. TABU is in many ways a terrifying film, where pure love is doomed in the face of money and authority, and even the gorgeous purity of the Tahitian Islands seems tainted by human greed and foolishness. This masterpiece will haunt you for a long time after you have seen it, partly because of the riveting story, and partly because of the exquisite cinematography by Floyd Crosby, who deservedly won an Academy Award for his efforts. Do not miss this legendary masterwork of cinema!

Beautiful...

[diogoal-2 · 9/10 · 3 November 2000]

People with prejudice against silent films should see "Tabu"; it´s a masterpiece of cinema. The storyline is superb, a struggle not between good and evil, but between human will and fate; there´s a beautiful love story of natives of the South Seas, mystery and suspense; and, to boot, some of the most wonderful sights you´ve ever seen in a b&w flick. The anthropological genius of Robert O´Flaherty, and the creativeness of F.W. Murnau cannot be denied; this is the meeting of two movie titans.

Tabu: Romeo and Juliet of the South Seas

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 26 May 2019]

The cinematography of this film puts most modern films to shame. You don't even notice it is a silent film because every scene is self-explanatory and needs little or no dialogue. The actors were great considering they were not professionals. The direction is superb. This is a must see film; silent or otherwise.

Unique and beautiful.

[David-240 · 10/10 · 3 June 1999]

There has never been another film like "Tabu". This is a unique blending of ethnographic documentary and expressionist drama, from two directors who were masters of these forms.

The actors are real Polynesians and their ceremonies and rituals are faithfully captured, and interwoven with a tragic love story. The cinematography deservedly won an Oscar - it is truly beautiful. Murnau, away from his usual studio sets, manages to create the same sense of danger using natural light - especially moonlight - and real locations.

The performances are very strong - especially Chevalier as the girl, and the old man is as scary as Nosferatu as he haunts her dreams at night.

Sadly this was Murnau's last film - he died in a car crash just before the premiere. It is a little dramatically uneven, and certainly not the masterpiece that "Sunrise" is, but it is still very worthwhile.

Visually stunning...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 27 July 2006]

"Tabu" is a visually arresting black-and-white silent...and that's a good thing because there's not much else going on here to occupy your mind. Heavy-handed "plot" about a doomed beauty on primitive Bora Bora who flees her island home and family with her lover, unable to escape her unlucky fate, is cast with real islanders so you cannot fault the authenticity; however, there's nobody in the film who leaves an impression. The movie began life as a documentary, but director F.W. Murnau pushed for a fictional storyline to propel the visuals, and this may have been a mistake. As it unfolds, one can see shot after shot of beautiful images that would look wonderful in a coffee-table book for the tiki lounge set, but the dated dramatics muddy things up. Floyd Crosby won a well-deserved Oscar for his cinematography. **1/2 from ****

Overpowering! A masterpiece!

[JohnHowardReid · 10/10 · 25 October 2017]

Anna Chevalier (Reri, the young girl), Matahi (the young man), Hitu (old warrior), Jean (policeman), Jules (captain), Ah Fong (Chinese trader).

Written, produced and directed by F. W. MURNAU and ROBERT J. FLAHERTY. Photography: Floyd Crosby. Film editor: Arthur A. Brooks. Supervising film editor and production manager: Edgar G. Ulmer. Music: Hugo Riesenfeld. Co-producer: David Flaherty. Assistant director: Bill Bambridge. Music orchestrations: W. Franke Harling and Milan Roder.

Not copyright by Murnau-Flaherty Productions. Released through Paramount. New York opening at the Central Park Theatre, 18 March 1931. 6 reels. 81 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Native boy loves Sacred Maiden.

NOTES: Academy Award for Cinematography. (Floyd Crosby defeated a strong field, including Edward Cronjager's Cimarron, Lee Garmes' Morocco, Charles Lang's The Right To Love and Barney McGill's Svengali). Filmed over a period of 18 months in the South Seas, on the islands of Bora Bora and Takapota, "Tabu" is a silent film, with a synchronized music score and sound effects.

Flaherty disclaims the film. He withdrew from the production before it was completed.

On the Thursday before the New York opening, F. W. Murnau was killed when his driver lost control of his car and it plunged over an embankment on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

COMMENT: The trailer (which Paramount prepared well before the director's death) tells us that over a thousand critics had voted Murnau as one of the world's greatest directors. His first Hollywood feature, Sunrise (1927), certainly achieved triumphant status. Basically, a silent film, it was fleshed out with sound effects and a wonderful music score by Hugo Riesenfeld. However, Murnau's next pictures, Four Devils (1929) and City Girl (1930), failed to achieve comparable success, both with the critics and public. Again, both were basically conceived as silent films, though this time with talking sequences. Murnau had little to do with the talkie sections. In both films, these were "staged" by A.H. Van Buren and A.F. "Buddy" Erickson.

When producer William Fox decided to expand the dialogue content of City Girl, Murnau left the production and Buddy Erickson took over the direction.

Murnau then formed a partnership with the famous documentary film- maker, Bob Flaherty. Together they journeyed to the South Seas, to the island of Bora Bora, then untouched by the "advances" of civilization. They wrote a simple but emotive script that brilliantly utilized their surroundings and commenced filming with an all-native cast, headed by the lovely Anna Chevalier (who is actually billed as "Reri" to disguise her French parentage).

At some stage, Murnau and Flaherty had a serious disagreement. In the upshot, Flaherty left Bora Bora. Murnau completed the film by himself, then took the rushes back to Hollywood where he supervised the editing in collaboration with his friend, Edgar G. Ulmer. Another friend, Hugo Riesenfeld, wrote the magnificent music that underlines just about every minute of the movie's running time, deftly inserting traditional native chants to add poetry, realism and variety.

It's about the music score that I want to speak first. One of the most remarkable and beautiful scores ever written for a motion picture, it is so wondrously atmospheric that the viewer doesn't realize that the composer also supplies all the sound effects until a second or third viewing. The love theme is heart-wrenching and poignant. By a happy chance, this style of scoring with its repetitive phrases and crescendo orchestration was later used extensively by Alfred Newman. So, unlike many other early 1930s scores, this one seems astonishingly "modern".

Although not a single word of spoken dialogue issues from the screen, we never have the impression of watching a silent film. Cleverly, the usual insert captions are used most sparingly, and even then only (and quite naturally) employed to reveal the contents of three or four letters.

Under Murnau's inspired guidance, the acting of this entirely amateur cast rates as nothing short of superlative. The players come across with such complete conviction, they seem for all the world like real people playing out this tragic romance before our very eyes.

Finally, the photography. Yes, Floyd Crosby certainly deserved his award. Every single shot strikes the viewer as a masterpiece of composition, lighting and atmosphere. It positively shimmers. So many superlatively dramatic and/or picturesquely riveting shots continuously catch the eyes, it's impossible to even begin listing just the highlights.

Tabu is a picture that alternately moves, inspires, delights and saddens. Its overpoweringly realistic story, cloaked with imagery that heightens the senses, has not lost its impact today. If anything, it has gained in stature and importance.

Well made but just not the most interesting or innovative movie around.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 7/10 · 13 December 2007]

The movie is no way near as a good as Murnau's most previous movies, mainly because it isn't really anything innovation. For his standards, this is a pretty standard piece of work. This no doubt also has to do with the fact that during the beginning of production acclaimed documentary maker Robert J. Flaherty (the man who also made "Nanook of the North") was also at the helm but slowly got pushed away by F.W. Murnau as filming progressed. Two captains on one ship just never work out, especially not when they have different expertise's. It's the reason why the movie at times looks as if its a documentary about the natives and at others the movie follows obviously a story. But having said that this is no way near close to being F.W. Murnau's best, says nothing about the quality of this actual film. It's a worthy enough last picture of the German director, who gave us movies such as "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens", "Der Letzte Mann" and "Faust", before dying in a car crash, one week before the release of this movie. He was one of the most influential directors of the silent film era, even though this last movie doesn't fully does justice to this reputation.

The movie just wasn't always much interesting to me. Perhaps I just didn't liked or cared enough about its subject of a group of natives on Bora-Bora. The movie of course looks visually good and shows lot of the customs and lifestyle of the natives but the story just doesn't ever get off the ground. Perhaps this is also due to the fact that this is a silent movie, so without any dialogs but also without title cards as well. It only uses some monologues and a couple of letters that are being read and written by some of the characters within the movie.

A 'movie' that is worth a watch but don't expect anything typical Murnau.

7/10

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The Silent Treatment

[Prof_Lostiswitz · 10/10 · 21 May 2003]

This is a great film, one that actually benefits from being silent. The south-seas love story could seem incredibly hackneyed, but the sensitive silent presentation makes it all seem believable. Flaherty's painstaking ethnographic research pays off, establishing that we are getting a genuine look at Polynesian village life. The roles are played by actual villagers under their own names.

This was originally going to be a documentary like Nanook of the North, but Murnau got so fascinated by Polynesian legends told by the locals that he decided to incorporate them into the story. This also meant that he had to invest his own money in the film, as Hollywood would have none of it. Nowadays we think anything so beautiful couldn't be genuine, but Murnau and Flaherty seem to have constructed an accurate document.

The tragic love story has its parallel in real life, as Murnau was killed in a car-crash days after the film's completion.

The MTV generation is better able to appreciate silent films than the 60's crowd, so I recommend to viewers interested in something different.

Stuck in the middle between a real Murnau film and a real Flaherty documentary

[frankde-jong · 7/10 · 21 January 2021]

"Taboe" is the last film of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. He made it together with Robert Flaherty, father of the documentary and ethnographic film. In my opinion the combination proves to be however less than the sum of the constituent parts. The film is not a real Murnau and also not a real Flaherty, but something stuck in the middle.

In 1927 with "Sunrise" Murnau had already made a film about a couple that seemed to be doomed. "Tabu" is not of the same quality as "Sunrise", although there are a couple of scenes that come close. I am thinking especially about the scenes of the initiation ritual of Reri (the girl), the wedding scene of Reri and Matahi (the boy) and the tragic ending scene.

The scene of the initiation ritual is somewhat cynical. We see young people performing a very sensual dance, but at the same time the purpose of the ritual is to declare a girl as holy virgin. After the ceremony a normal sex life will be strictly forbidden for this girl.

Interesting mix of documentary and narrative style film-making

[km_dickson · 3/10 · 31 August 2005]

Director F.W. Murnau wisely stuck with the silent film medium he knew so well to cover this story of native islander life in the South Seas. The documentary style works very well for the first half of the movie. The landscapes are beautiful, and the daily life activities of the islanders are interesting to watch. The film loses momentum, though, when it begins to concentrate more on the narrative story of two doomed lovers. The storyline just never gets that interesting, despite being handled well by Murnau. Won an Academy Award for best cinematography, although the award probably should have been for best scenery. You can't really credit the DP for getting to shoot in such a beautiful location.

One of the last great silent era films

[klausming · 16 March 2015]

Tabu might best be described as ethnographic-fiction which combines Robert J. Flaherty's documentary style with F.W. Murnau visual sensibilities. The result is one of the last great silent era films. The naturalistic setting is perfectly matched by the realistic acting of the non-traditional cast, the local Polynesian people. As a tragic love story, the plot is deceptively simple, yet it is unexpectedly engaging. Murnau's expressionist background continues to be expressed through his artful use of light and shadow. His decision not to use inter-titles to explain dialogue was perhaps the most fitting to the story and the setting, leaving the majority of the plot development to the actions of the characters and the work of the camera (Klaus Ming November 2008).

Innocence and tragedy in the south seas

[netwallah · 8/10 · 19 April 2006]

The film-makers say at the outset that the cast consists entirely of South Sea Islanders, some Chinese, and "half-breeds." The story is a tragedy set in the "untouched" paradise of Rora-Rora. Matahi, a handsome youth gifted at spearfishing, pearl diving, and everything else, is in love with Reri (Ann Chevalier), but then she's chosen to be the next maiden whose task and honour it is to attend the gods. Sge is tabu; anybody who touches her or looks on her with desire must die. After the ceremony on the eve of her departure Matahi steals her away and they escape to another island, one more developed by colonial trade, represented by a French policeman and Chinese shopkeepers. Matahi, though the best pearl diver ever seen, runs up a prodigious debt innocently treating the villagers to champagne at a festival. Thus, when they need to escape from the grim pursuit carried on by the menacing Hitu, they cannot purchase a ticket on the schooner leaving just before the deadline of three days. Reri writes a note telling Matahi she's going with Hitu to save his life; at the same time he dives on a tabu reef, battles the shark that protects the place, and finds a rare dark pearl—but Reri's gone. He races after them, first paddling and then swimming, and he reaches Hitus' sailboat and grasps a rope, which Hitu, expressionless, cuts. Matahi falls behind the boat, and losing strength, flails and sinks. The tabu has been too powerful. This is a silent movie, though (later?) fitted with an orchestral soundtrack. The photography is superb, the islanders very handsome, but there's a kind of colonialist primitivism running through the story. The islanders are happy until "superstition" interferes, and though there are natural causes for the disasters blamed on the tabu, the disasters happen anyway. Or is it because of the cruelty of the superstitious religion's structure and enforcer? Or because of the exploitation of the pearl traders, shopkeepers, and police? There is no doubt that the European film-makers created artificial roles for the actors, according to their own preconceived ideas about the innocence of primitive life, even as they advertise their authenticity. But it's well worth watching anyway.

Simple, well-told, stands the test of time

[I_Ailurophile · 9/10 · 21 September 2021]

It's a classic story, regaling audiences with ageless themes: clashes between community versus individuality, love versus duty, and tradition versus progress; rebellion, risk, consequences, exploitation. It's gratifying that the cast largely consisted of locals, and while the apparent cost-cutting intent is dubious, it's refreshing, too, that F. W. Murnau trained locals to employ them as his crew. The filming locations and general production history add context for this rendition of timeless ideas that make it stand out even among many others: 90 years later, 'Tabu' remains a worthy work of cinema.

In its themes, particularly, and in its narrative broadly, 'Tabu' represents a tale that has played out across every culture throughout history. Murnau (and more or less film-making partner Robert Flaherty) clearly aimed for authenticity in this portrayal, with every aspect of the feature geared toward making 'A story of the south seas' feel as genuine as it could be. Every spotlighted element of islander life brings the tropical locale to us with vivid realization as the camera captures all, and once the plot picks up the movie readily holds our attention despite the familiarity. The picture is plentifully exciting without any need for sound or dialogue.

An extra bit of flavoring I especially enjoy is the stylization given to intertitles here. Only in a couple sparing instances are we given pure narration. Instead the emphasis is on scrolls, journal entries, or notes that serve the same purpose of both dialogue and establishing text. This is a touch that, without sacrificing any communication of story beats, in some sense manages to make the feature seem more natural, fluid, and cohesive. It's a small thing, but I admire the distinction. On a like note, we're treated to a couple swell uses of editing that still seem pretty advanced for 1931. Furthermore, I think the cast performs admirably - not professional actors, but capably depicting all necessary emotions and carrying the picture.

It's not necessarily entirely perfect. The very first scene seems to drag on interminably, and well-written as the climax is, the ending feels marginally underwhelming. Regardless of any subjective weaknesses, however, overall 'A story of the south seas' is satisfyingly solid, and engrossing. From standpoints of both film-making and storytelling it stays, even in retrospect, an entertaining feature that is just as deserving of an audience in 2021 as it was in 1931. While it's not the most profound title you'll ever watch, that it still holds up counts for a lot. 'Tabu' is a fine film, a silent classic worth checking out wherever one may find it.

Power of love

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 30 March 2022]

Watching as much stuff as I do, it was a matter of time before I got to another Murnau movie. Actually coming to think about it, it took way longer than one might have expected. That being said I doubt that this will touch a nerve as much as some of his other work did. Not because I think this isn't any good. No I'd say this is very well made, especially considering the circumstances and the time it was made (almost a hundred years ago).

This being b/w and "silent" already may make it something that some people will rather stray away from. You can't blame those for feeling this has not aged well. Technically speaking - but that is to ex-and suspected. If you can suspend your disbelief and concentrate on the (love) story ... on the story of fate and will ... this has mystery and suspense to boost to keep you on the edge for its entire short running time.

Silent masterwork

[st-shot · 10/10 · 11 March 2018]

This beautiful and simple story of a South Seas love and loss romance might be the last great silent from the era. Along with City Lights (made the same year) it may well be credited as the apogee of the silent period even with the writing on the wall ( microphones in the plants) since 1927.

On the island of Bora Bora experiencing the full bloom of youth and beauty a girl and boy find love. Her radiance however is coveted by the Old Warrior who holds huge sway over his people as he demands she be his next wife. The lovers run off, find safe haven and employment on a more "civilized island" where the locals and Asian merchants exploit their innocence. Bribing a local cop, he's allowed to stay on but the threat of the Old Warrior causes vacillation on the girl's part who struggles with the fact that the only way to save her lover is to leave him.

FW Murnau's last film was fraught with budget and personality difficulties as he and his co-director Robert Flaherty did not see eye to eye. Distilling to a native crew and relying on Floyd Crosby's outstanding capture of the island paradise, it's people and the unabashed joie de vivre of a life in the sun Murnau movingly follows his doomed duo stranded in Eden, hunted by a stoic resolve that builds to a dire crescendo. Trapped by tradition, exploited by modern society Murnau paints his pair of protagonists into a corner and in the process paints a masterpiece of simple storytelling of his own.

interesting but obsolete

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 3 August 2006]

Director F. W. Murnau's films are always interesting and amazing to watch. However, despite some very positive press concerning this final film, I was rather disappointed. Yes, it was well-made. But, for 1931, doing the film as a silent just seemed a bit old fashioned and out of date--something Murnau NEVER was when directing such classics as NOSFERATU, THE LAST LAUGH and FAUST. These were all highly innovative films and represented the absolute cutting edge in film. But TABU on the other hand just seems stuck and behind the times. While it does have a very interesting story, excellent on-location filming and nice music and sound effects, the film looks like it was made pre-1930 because there were no voices. I am a HUGE fan of silent films, but still feel compelled to complain about this.

Not a bad film, but certainly a skipable film and nowhere nearly as well-done as his other movies. Plus, in 1928 (three years before TABU) a very similar film, WHITE SHADOWS IN THE SOUTH SEAS was made and Murnau's tale is of about equal quality.

Beautiful Final Film

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 4 January 2021]

F. W. Murnau left this film as his final effort, dying shortly thereafter. it is a solidly filmed presentation of the south seas. The plot involves a clash between island civilization and that of modern western society. It is a tale of two lovers who have been put upon by superstition and quaint religious rule. The problem is that there is no place for them to find peace. I'm sure people watching it at the time would be amazed at the beauty presented.

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 16 February 2024]

Though beautifully shot, this is - in fact - rather a horrible film! Set on the peaceful and beautiful island of Bora Bora, we meet a young girl "Reri" (Anne Chavalier) who is selected by the chief to be the next sacred virgin. This is an honour, a position that will earn her respect and comfort but it will deny her that which she craves the most - her true love (Matahi). Desperate, the two decide to abscond and he finds himself eking a living in a more venal, European, community where his angry Gods lack any power but where his lack of familiarity with the very concept of money soon sees him, quite literally, swimming in a sea of debt. Meantime, the chief back home (Hitu) has declared that there needs to be a search for them that involves the police (Bill Bambridge). When the officer tracks them down and they face arrest, the young man resorts to even more dangerous diving - amidst sharks - to obtain the pearls he needs to pay off his creditors so they can skedaddle again. Of course, the best laid plans and all that, and when he returns to their shack, he finds that she has decided to sacrifice her happiness and return to their home... Can they reunite? This film cleverly marries a mixture of ritualism and emotion, and illustrates really quite clearly just how incompatible they can be. A young couple doing no harm to anyone, in a nation that would ordinarily embrace their affection, find themselves forced by superstition to flee, to compromise and to live in fear. The whole film has a futility to it that's writ large and is actually quite exasperating to watch. Leave them be, for heaven's sake! Find another virgin? I'm not sure if F. W. Murnau is having a go at religiosity, or at the fallibility of love itself - and that ambiguity makes this all the more interesting to watch. The fact that even they knew their relationship was likely to end in disappointing failure still didn't deter them from earning the enmity of their leaders and the authorities - yet instinct and their visceral need for each other overrode those palpably presented dangers. That the setting is so idealistic and benign seems to rub salt into their wounds and as love stories go, this is probably the one that most tugged on my heart-strings. It does look super on a big screen if you can, and the subject does give a rich bed for the accompanist to play both rousingly and tenderly.

Legend Director F. W. Murnau's Last Movie

[springfieldrental · 8/10 · 13 September 2022]

Some island natives claimed a house built on an ancient burial site was the reason film director F. W. Murnau had difficulties making his movie on the exotic island of Tahiti as well as the cause of his untimely death. The tale of March 1931's "Tabu: A Story of the South Seas" contains a number of tantalizing events ultimately leading to the early departure of the 42-year-old director's soul from this world.

Murnau had just completed filming his 1930 silent "City Girl" in Los Angeles when he suddenly wanted to get as far away from California as he possibly could. He had just met the documentarian Robert J. Flaherty, who was very familiar with the Pacific South Seas. Murnau was intrigued in collaborating with him to produce a dramatic film on the islands. Flaherty, before he walked away from directing 1928's "White Shadows in the South Seas," heard a legend in Tahiti where a young woman is selected to be a maiden for the island god. She is cut off from society and has no relationship with anyone, even family. Anyone who touches or desires her means death. In other words, she's off-limits and is tabu.

The two wrote the script, incorporating pieces from "White Shadows in the South Seas." Along with a film crew they set off for Tahiti and Bora Bora. Murnau, instantly falling in love with the land and its people, planned to stay by producing several island-themed movies. He had a house built for him on some vacant land. Either because of the spirits emanating from the newly-constructed home or because of his brusk style, Murnau began to upset people. Flaherty realized shortly after filming began he couldn't work with the German-native Murnau, and found himself relegated to just processing the shot footage. He lasted only a couple of weeks before sailing back to the states. Before he did, however, he called cameraman Floyd Crosby in Los Angeles and asked if he could join them in paradise. The father of singer David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills and Nash) said he could and became the cinematographer for the remainder of the filming.

Meanwhile, the small company financing "Tabu" paid Murnau only $5,000, and nothing more. The director decided to fund the silent movie himself. He released the Hollywood film crew and hired cheap, inexperienced islanders for the rest of the production. The weather during filming was unusually rainy and overcast, and the heat and humidity destroyed much of the shot footage before anyone ever realized it, forcing many scenes to be reshot. Crosby told Marnau the film canisters had to be stored in a cool, refrigerated room. The director found the Hinano Beer Brewery had a cooler perfect for storage before shipping the canisters to Hollywood. Deciding one day to inspect his film at the brewery, he dropped in for a visit. Much to his surprise, Murnau spotted workers drinking beer outside using the canisters as seats. The director went nuts, and ended up physically assaulting several of the startled workers, scattering them in all directions.

As the weeks went by, Murnau's brash attitude was getting old to the Tahiti's French officials as well as the locals. A Tahitian tahua, or medicine man, lashed out at the director, claiming the script insulted the islanders' taboos. He placed a curse on Murnau for belittling their beliefs as well as building his new house on sacred soil. Once the year-long filming was completed, Murnau returned to Hollywood to edit his footage over the winter. So impressed by "Tabu," Paramount Pictures offered not only a generous payout for the motion picture but fulfilled his dream by giving Murnau a contract to produce one film a year for ten years on any island-themed movie of his choosing.

He had his sites on Joseph Conrad's novel "Typee" as his next project. A week before the New York City premier of "Tabu," Murnau hired a chauffeur to drive him to Monterey to see author Gouverneur Morris to discuss adapting the book into a screenplay. On Friday, March 13, 1931, while passing Santa Barbara, his driver saw a truck heading into his lane and swerved to avoid it. He overcompensated and hit an embankment, overturning the car and throwing Murnau out of the car. The director died the following day from head injuries. Before his body was transported to Berlin, Germany, for burial, Greta Garbo commissioned a death mask of his face and always kept it on her desk.

As for Murnau's house in Tahiti, actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Rented it a year later while filming his 1932 "Mr. Robinson Crusoe." The housekeeper was spooked about the spirits lingering inside, screaming she saw ghosts as well as Murnau's skeleton on the tip of a spear held by an old, ancient chieftain. Fairbanks left the next day to stay at a hotel. Several years later, the owner of the property, a cheerful, healthy man, died suddenly in his sleep in the house. His family and friends were stunned to see the expression of his dead face, wearing a look of terror, something they said was so unusual for the happy-go-lucky man.

"Tabu: A Song of the South Seas" proved to be a disappointment for Paramount at the box office. But its naturalistic photography was recognized by the Academy when it awarded its fourth annual Best Cinematography award to Floyd Crosby. The American Film Institute nominated Murnau's final movie for 100 Most Passionate Movies Ever Made, while "Tabu" is included in "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" reference book.

I wasn't really at all sure what I was about to watch

[christopher-underwood · 6/10 · 3 October 2020]

I wasn't really at all sure what I was about to watch when I put this Blu-ray in and I'm not really certain, after watched, what it was either. There is a large booklet and several extras and apparently even more reels and reels of unseen footage and yet this celebrated offering seems really to be the result of an aborted mission to combine the talents of F W Murnau and Robert Flaherty. Trouble is this beautifully looking artefact is neither a wondrous and informative documentary nor an involving and poetic tale. Even the opening scenes, apparently more the work of Flaherty are idyllic scenes of young, indigenous peoples fishing and cavorting but infected by an overreaching urge to pose and further idealise the goings on. Things get much worse when the hand of Murau becomes firmer and a fairytale like story is woven from the innocence that abounds thereby adding some Disney like veneer to proceedings. Everything looks good and why would it not o a South Sea island but the pushy, preachy manner in which the 'actors' are prodded into action and 'artistic' positions reminds me of early so called documentaries where animals were supplied with human voices to make them less like wild animals. Remarkable footage then and well enough put together. Must have been hell out there with all that primitive and unwieldy equipment even if there were the lovely native boys and girls by way of compensation.

Failure on Murnau's part

[nsaliba-32353 · 3/10 · 28 June 2022]

In my opinion, Lang was always the superior German filmmaker. Murnau's films are simply boring when compared to other films of his era, and Tabu is no exception. Murnau expects us to care about the love story, but he rarely shows any intimate moments between the two other than their sleeping. The scenes are long-winded and spoon-fed. However, I have no doubt that just seeing a Polynesian island people on location was a spectacle for American audiences at the time who had probably never even seen a PI before, even in pictures. The film unfortunately can't decide if it's a documentary or a fictional love story. It had potential to be something different, like a critique of colonialism, but it never follows this potential.