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The love of a young couple violates a local taboo in this folk tale of the Pacific Islands. Although filmed on location, Tabu is in no sense anthropological in intent. The sense of freedom that seems to have been released in Murnau by the South Seas is expressed stylistically. The inevitable tragedy set in motion by the virility of the young hero is intensified by the rhapsody of textures and the sensuous, sometime homoerotic, play of light on the human body. The space in the frame and its evocation beyond is charged with the menace of a hostile world. Murnau’s last film was initially to be a collaboration with Robert Flaherty but Flaherty pulled out early in the production and sold his interest to Murnau. Tabu was shot as a silent film in 1929 and released in 1931 with a musical soundtrack.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
315812
Audience classification
G
Subject categories
Feature films → Feature films - United States
Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Love
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)