Special Event
Free Screening! Elements Of Cinema
Harvard Film Archive Programmer David Pendleton Will Discuss
Tabu at 11:00 am
(1931) dir F.W. Murnau w/Mathai, Anna Chevalier; Cinematography by Robert Flaherty [82 min]
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.
one day only
