Tabu



Utilizing a cast of natives in Tabu: A Story of the South Seas, German director F.W. Murnau blends ethnographic curiosity with romantic drama as he examines the dangers faced by lovers who break the rules of society in Bora Bora. Best known for the more expressionistic Nosferatu and Sunrise, Murnau dispenses with inter-titles and exaggerated gestures that typified most silent films, and reveals plot points visually through journal entries, newspaper articles and signs.

The New York Times described it as a "picture poem" of 'paradise' and 'paradise lost.' Shot entirely in Tahiti, Floyd Crosby's lush cinematography won him an Academy Award. Tabu would be Murnau's last film; he died in a car accident one week before its premiere.

Tabu was added to the National Film Registry in 1994.