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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.

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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.

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.'

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.

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.

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.

"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 ****

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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"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.

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.

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).

Floyd Crosby's superb cinematography won him a richly deserved Oscar for F.W. Murnau's "Tabu". The film itself is a very simple, perhaps even simplistic. love story of the kind we have become accustomed to hearing since love stories first were told; boy loves girl, girl loves boy but they can't be together because, in this case, the girl is decreed to be a sacred virgin by the island chief.

The subtitle of the film is 'A Story of the South Seas' and Murnau, together with Robert Flaherty, made the film on the island of Bora Bora. There are very few inter-titles so the film is, for the most part, a truly visual experience. The cast is made up entirely of non-professionals; the leads are native islanders and if often feels like a documentary rather than a work of fiction. Of course, it also feels as primitive as the lifestyle it portrays; sophistication is the one thing it lacks but perhaps that is not such a bad thing. Fundamentally this is a tale of innocence and of paradise lost and it has stood the test of time.

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.

An evening spent with a silent film is an evening well spent, especially when the film in question is as great as Murnau's swan song - a fatalist ballad of doomed, star-crossed lovers. From the very opening which is the only scene directed by the co-writer Robert J. Flaherty, it is apparent that we are in for a delightful treat.

Taken to an earthly paradise of the Bora Bora island, we are introduced to a group of indigenous fishermen one of whom will turn out to be the tragic hero. This young man by the name of Matahi falls for a beautiful maiden, Reri, but their romance gets nipped in the bud when the girl is chosen as the successor to the sacred virgin of the Fanuma tribe. From that point forth, she is tabu and to break that tabu means death, as we are informed by an elder, Hitu, who delivers his chief's message. Fleeing from the clutches of strict customs embodied by the said geezer, the couple arrives to another island, only to be unknowingly caught in the gnawing maw of western civilization which has already infested those parts. Initially, their escape appears successful, but Fate has something else in the bag for them...

Essentially, Tabu is a Romeo and Juliet story ably relocated to the breathtaking Pacific setting and transformed into a compelling piece of docufiction. Split in two parts aptly titled Paradise and Paradise Lost, it is both poetic and anthropological, and a fine example of the 'show, don't tell' method, with text cards utilized sparsely, as well as creatively, and with good deal of information being provided by virtue of the wonderfully captured imagery (many kudos to DoP Floyd Crosby). Murnau elicits outstanding performances from the non-professional cast who reveal a surprisingly wide range of emotions through their gestures and facial expressions, thus making their characters convincing, sympathetic and impossible not to root for. The chemistry between the leads is natural, and their struggle against the cruel side of tradition is deeply felt. As the viewer is immersed into the islanders' simple, sunbathed and ostensibly carefree everyday, the gloom gradually seeps in, dissolving the aura of joy and innocence that once surrounded Reri and Matahi.

Brimful of kinetic energy reaching its maximum in the lively hula dancing and boat rowing sequences, and imbued with ravishing, exotic beauty whose colors can be seen despite the monochromatic cinematography, Tabu progresses at brisk pace, putting motion (with capital M) in motion picture, with the evocative mixture of classical and traditional music operating as the propellant. Its universal appeal and undeniable timelessness are reflected in simultaneously candid and idealized depictions of those small, yet meaningful moments that people experience in their pursuit for happiness, whether they decide to break some rules or not...

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 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.

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.

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.

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.