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306:, on an important mission. He bears a message from the chief of Fanuma to the chief of Bora Bora: a maiden sacred to their gods has died and Reri has been given the great honour of replacing her because of her royal blood and virtue. From this point on, she is tabu: "man must not touch her or cast upon her the eye of desire" upon penalty of death. This is painful news to Reri and the young man Matahi, who love each other. Matahi cannot bear it. That night, he sneaks her off the ship, and the couple escape the island by
329:, a perilous place guarded by a shark that has already taken the life of one diver. While he is away, Reri writes a farewell note, and leaves with Hitu. Matahi manages to get a pearl while fending off the shark. When he returns, however, he finds the note. He swims after Hitu's boat. He manages to grab a rope trailing from the boat, unbeknownst to the sleeping Reri, but Hitu cuts it. Undaunted, Matahi continues swimming after them until he eventually tires and drowns.
443:; the rest of the crew was made up of local natives. Flaherty worked on the story with Murnau during production, but he was not the co-director as he originally thought he would be. He spent most of his time on the film working in the lab developing the film. Flaherty disliked Murnau immensely because of this and the arrogance and selfishness Murnau displayed during production.
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Production finished in
October 1930. Flaherty had been living on only $ 40 a week and was broke by the end of the shoot. A couple of days after the wrap, Flaherty sold his share of the film to Murnau for $ 25,000. Returning to Los Angeles, Murnau spent the winter editing the film and used the last of
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Production began in
January 1930, with Flaherty directing the opening scene of the film. This would be the only scene he directed. Flaherty began having technical problems, as his camera was causing the film to rip. He called in cinematographer Floyd Crosby for help and the rest of the film was shot
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The local policeman receives a notice from the French government announcing a reward for the return of the couple, but Matahi bribes him with his last pearl. Then, Hitu arrives on the island and sees Reri alone, informing her that she has three days to give herself up or Matahi will be put to death.
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In 1940, Plumpe sold the worldwide distribution rights to
Rowland and Samuel Brown. During World War II, the US government seized the film, believing it was owned by German citizens. The Brown brothers regained the film after the war and re-released the film in 1948, adding an alternate title
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The production was originally supposed to be financed by a small production company called
Colorart. By September, however, Murnau had only received $ 5,000 of the due money. After a series of telegrams asking for the rest of the money, Murnau got fed up and decided to fund it himself.
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That night, Hitu returns with a spear. Reri first throws herself in front of the sleeping Matahi, then agrees to return to Bora Bora to save his life. When Matahi stirs, Reri pretends to be asleep. Matahi gets up and decides to get money by getting a pearl from a tabu region of the
572:(Spine No 61) and issued in June 2013. Included is a longer version than the Paramount 1931 release; an extensive booklet (56pp); a short program on Murnau's films; extensive clapperboard footage that has survived; and a short made at the time for Ufa/Tobis release,
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The film had its premiere on March 18, 1931, a week after Murnau died, at New York's
Central Park Theater. The film was not a box-office success upon release, grossing just $ 472,000 worldwide, which failed to recoup Murnau and Paramount's investment. At the
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This version re-instates the footage cut by
Paramount prior to the film's premiere, including shots of nudity. The DVD contains a commentary with R. Dixon Smith and Brad Stevens, as well as a booklet containing essays and the original stories
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To cut costs, Murnau sent the
Hollywood crew home and trained the natives to work as the crew. He also scrapped plans to shoot the film in colour and changed to black and white. The film's script was rewritten and the title was changed to
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and Murnau; with the exception of the opening scene, the film was directed solely by Murnau. This was his last film; he died in a hospital after an automobile accident on March 11, 1931, a week before the film's premiere in New York City.
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Murnau visited Tahiti in May 1929 and was joined by
Flaherty a month later to scout for locations on the nearby island of Bora Bora. While scouting, they found their leading lady, Anne Chevalier, in a local cocktail bar.
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Without telling Matahi of her meeting with Hitu, Reri decides they must flee once more. However, when Matahi goes to buy tickets on a schooner, the shopkeepers instead take the money as partial payment of his debt.
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The re-release was not a success and in the 1960s Murnau's nieces, Ursula Plumpe and Eva
Diekmann, bought back the rights. In 1973, a complete nitrate print of the 1931 release was discovered and screened at the
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The film's ownership reverted to Murnau's mother
Ottilie Plumpe after distribution rights lapsed in the mid-1930s. The original negative was returned to Germany, where it was destroyed during World War II.
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to avoid potential legal issues with Colorart. This was the start of a poor working relationship between Flaherty and Murnau. Flaherty disliked the new script, feeling it was overly plotted and Westernized.
317:. They are happy with their new life together. However, Matahi is unfamiliar with the concept of money, so he does not understand the bills and signs for drinks for everyone during a celebration.
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DVD by Image Entertainment. This version runs 80 minutes 51 seconds. The disc also includes a commentary by film historian Janet Bergstrom; twenty minutes of outtakes; and a
237:, 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,
241:, 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
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released a Region 0 DVD in the UK and Ireland. This version of the film runs 82 minutes 14 seconds with PAL speed up (85 minutes 42 seconds (NTSC)).
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had been shut down. The two directors knew each through Flaherty's brother David, and Murnau expressed a desire to make a film in
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Eventually, they reach a French colony, half dead. They recover quickly, and Matahi becomes the community's most successful
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Heller, Amy and Doros, Dennis "Film Notes" (Milestone Film & Video, 1992)
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Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award
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Aged emissary Hitu arrives by Western sailing ship to the island of
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as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
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based on this print, to preserve the film for future generations.
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for the music scoring. The distribution rights were sold to
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was based on a legend Flaherty had heard while working on
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before 1943), from which is derived the English word "
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by Flaherty and Murnau upon which the film is based.
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702:"The 4th Academy Awards (1931) Nominees and Winners"
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616:Flaherty's Period: The Crosby Version
276:Academy Award for Best Cinematography
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576:(“Drift Hunting in the South Sea”).
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497:Preservation status and restoration
367:Murnau was coming off two troubled
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406:White Shadows in the South Seas
280:Tabu: A Story of the South Seas
199:Tabu: A Story of the South Seas
24:Tabu: A Story of the South Seas
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1241:American adventure drama films
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490:AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions
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1027:Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
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907:The Hunchback and the Dancer
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480:The film is recognized by
202:, sometimes simply called
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995:The Grand Duke's Finances
923:Evening – Night – Morning
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784:"Treibjagd in der Südsee"
591:List of docufiction films
262:The story was written by
229:sound-on-film process. A
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302:, a small island in the
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574:Treibjagd in der Südsee
516:American Film Institute
482:American Film Institute
353:Hitu as The Old Warrior
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278:for his work. In 1994,
931:Journey into the Night
284:National Film Registry
618:(Wide Angle 20, 1998)
464:Release and reception
347:as The Girl (as Reri)
1301:1930s American films
1271:Films shot in Tahiti
673:(Film Culture, 1959)
660:(Film Comment, 1990)
658:Sunrise in Bora Bora
564:It was restored for
173:Sound (Synchronized)
1124:Nanook of the North
671:A Few Reminiscences
475:Best Cinematography
288:Library of Congress
175:English Intertitles
1164:Oidhche Sheanchais
1112:Robert J. Flaherty
1110:Films directed by
947:The Haunted Castle
829:TCM Movie Database
471:4th Academy Awards
452:his money to hire
385:Acoma the Sky City
264:Robert J. Flaherty
123:Paramount Pictures
68:Robert J. Flaherty
57:Robert J. Flaherty
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70:F. W. Murnau
54:F. W. Murnau
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1156:Man of Aran
586:Docufiction
492:– Nominated
377:(1928) and
374:Four Devils
369:Fox Studios
315:pearl diver
231:docufiction
63:Produced by
41:Directed by
1221:1931 films
1215:Categories
768:August 29,
740:August 20,
597:References
539:short film
526:Home media
434:Production
358:Production
235:"Paradise"
219:sound film
210:pronounced
188:Box office
157:84 minutes
141:1931-03-18
51:Written by
1043:City Girl
971:Nosferatu
458:Paramount
380:City Girl
300:Bora Bora
247:(spelled
191:$ 472,000
183:$ 150,000
170:Languages
99:Edited by
16:1931 film
1180:The Land
1035:4 Devils
1011:Tartuffe
840:AllMovie
710:Archived
580:See also
535:region 1
109:Music by
75:Starring
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979:Phantom
955:Marizza
827:at the
716:May 21,
566:Blu-ray
541:called
286:by the
274:won an
162:Country
139: (
1201:(1948)
1193:(1942)
1175:(1937)
1167:(1935)
1159:(1934)
1151:(1928)
1143:(1927)
1135:(1926)
1127:(1922)
1054:(1931)
1046:(1930)
1038:(1928)
1030:(1927)
1022:(1926)
1014:(1926)
1006:(1924)
998:(1924)
990:(1923)
982:(1922)
974:(1922)
966:(1922)
958:(1922)
950:(1921)
942:(1921)
939:Desire
934:(1921)
926:(1920)
918:(1920)
910:(1920)
902:(1920)
894:(1919)
488:2002:
389:Tahiti
327:lagoon
253:Tongan
180:Budget
78:Matahi
1191:]
1132:Moana
1019:Faust
899:Satan
735:(PDF)
555:Turia
397:Turia
393:Turia
257:taboo
835:Tabu
824:Tabu
807:IMDb
770:2009
742:2016
718:2019
559:Tabu
557:and
531:Tabu
333:Cast
294:Plot
249:tabu
244:tapu
205:Tabu
838:at
816:at
805:at
708:).
403:'s
259:".
251:in
1217::
761:.
750:^
678:^
623:^
605:^
545:.
510:.
477:.
413:.
310:.
1188:d
1103:e
1096:t
1089:v
868:e
861:t
854:v
786:.
772:.
744:.
720:.
208:(
143:)
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