RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Tabu
Tabu

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Tabu (1931)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:8

Fresh:8

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.2/10

Runtime: 84 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Filmed in Tahiti, the story of a fisherman who falls in love with a beguiling woman who has been forbidden to men. German Expressionist director F.W. Murnau's last film is one of the most gorgeous... Filmed in Tahiti, the story of a fisherman who falls in love with a beguiling woman who has been forbidden to men. German Expressionist director F.W. Murnau's last film is one of the most gorgeous black & white films ever made. Pioneering documentarian Robert Flaherty (NANOOK OF THE NORTH) co-directed the film, which won the Academy Award for "Best Cinematography." [More]

Starring: Anna Chevalier, Matahi

Starring: Anna Chevalier, Matahi

Director: F.W. Murnau, Robert J. Flaherty

Director: F.W. Murnau, Robert J. Flaherty
Composer: Hugo Riesenfeld, Frederic Chopin, Bedrich Smetana

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Sep 3, 2002

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Filmed entirely in Tahiti, "Tabu" represents an unusual collaboration between legendary directors F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu, Sunrise) and Robert Flaherty (Nanook of the North). Two lovers are doomed by a tribal edict decreeing that the girl is "tabu" to all men. While the lovers' flight from judgment and the ultimate power of the tabu are reminiscent of Murnau's expressionist films, "Tabu" is all open air and sunlight, sparkling on the ocean and glistening on the beautiful young bodies of the native men and women. Now available completely uncensored and restored by UCLA, this cinematic landmark is one of the most gorgeous black and white films ever made, and was the 1931 Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography.
  • Source: Image Entertainment, Inc.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Tabu

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
    1 - 9 (sorted by date)
    Text View
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     

    Magnificent, filled with shimmering, luminescent images that evoke both paradise and paradise lost.

    Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
    08/29/06
    TV Guide's Movie Guide

    It is like a picture poem, with its sunshine and happiness in the beginning and its stormy drama in the end.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    01/28/06
    Mordaunt Hall
    Mordaunt Hall
    New York Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/30/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    05/19/05
    Thomas Delapa
    Thomas Delapa
    Boulder Weekly

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    04/07/05
    Andy Klein
    Andy Klein
    Los Angeles CityBeat

    If D.W. Griffith created the language of film, he left it up to his successors to add their own personal esthetics. On the short list of the cinema's all time greatest artists belongs the name F.W. Murnau.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    03/16/04
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
    05/24/03
    Channel 4 Film

    As with so many other great films, this one carries its own burden of real life sorrow.

    Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
    11/03/02
    John G. Nettles
    John G. Nettles
    PopMatters

    The exquisite tragic ending -- conceived musically and rhythmically as a gradually decelerating diminuendo -- is one of the pinnacles of silent cinema.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jonathan Rosenbaum
    Jonathan Rosenbaum
    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    1 - 9 (sorted by date)
    Text View
    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    66% 66% Public Enemies
    83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
    44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
    75% 75% Julie & Julia
    32% 32% Terminator Salvation

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
    78% 78% The Hangover
    49% 49% Taking Woodstock
    26% 26% The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
    47% 47% The Girl From Monaco

    More New Releases…

    See All

    RT On Current TV

    The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

    DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

    Learn how you can be part of the show

    More...

    What’s Hot On RT

    Sherlock Holmes

    Sherlock Holmes

    New clips from the detective reboot!

    Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

    Check out the brand new trailer now!

    Awards Tour

    Awards Tour

    Keep up with latest nominations and awards!

    Friday Harvest

    Friday Harvest

    This week's best pics, vids, and posters!

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
    102
    • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
    1
    • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
    19
    • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
    32
    • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
    28
    • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
    9
    • Prince of Persia Featurette Posted Source: Yahoo! Movies
    4
    • Trailer Bulletin: Robin Hood Source: ComingSoon.net
    61
    • Mel Gibson Plans a Mexican Vacation Source: Variety
    8
    • New Iron Man 2 Clue Posted Source: Screen Rant
    26
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Critics Consensus: Avatar Is Certified Fresh
    183
    • Awards Tour 2009: Golden Globe Noms Here!
    145
    • Total Recall: James Cameron Movies
    88
    • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Girlpower Rules Again with Princess at #1
    70
    • Awards Tour 2009: Inglourious Basterds Lead Critics Choice Noms
    44
    • Awards Tour 2009: SAG Nominations Are In!
    39
    • Awards Tour 2009: Avatar Best Picture at NYFCO!
    38
    • Awards Tour 2009: The Hurt Locker Dominates Boston Society of Film Critics
    18
    • Weekly Ketchup: Bryan Singer Teaches X-Men: First Class
    17
    • Awards Tour 2009: LAFCA: The Hurt Locker Tops List
    12
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
    21
    • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
    2
    • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
    17
    • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
    12
    • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
    23
    • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
    8
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    15
    • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
    24
    • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    9
    • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
    29
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • Tabu at Rotten Tomatoes

    Fresh Links

    Featured
    MSN's Year in Review
    MSN's Year in Review External Link

    Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.

    Moviefone's Year End Movie Poll
    Moviefone's Year End Movie Poll External Link

    What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!

    Tarantino's Characters
    Tarantino's Characters External Link

    Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.

    Top 10 Movies of 2009
    Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

    TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

    Top 20 of the Decade
    Top 20 of the Decade External Link

    Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

    Promos
    Follow RT on Twitter
    Follow RT on Twitter External Link

    Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo

    IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


    By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
    IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.