Tabu: A Story of the South Seas
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, sometimes simply called Tabu, 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, from which is derived the English word "taboo".
Poster for 1949 U.S. theatrical re-release
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era.
Murnau c. 1920–1930
Murnau shooting a film in 1920
Murnau with Henri Matisse in Tahiti in 1930
Actor David Rollins sits unclothed in a 1927 photo taken by Murnau.