ADDITION: Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (June 2013): Brighter, significantly superior contrast and a heck of a lot more information in the frame. It's nice to see the grain here and there too. The 1080P is thick, rich and textured - a huge bump as compared with the flatter, smoother SD. The Bora Bora lagoons look so enticing in HD. Linear PCM mono sound brings the tinny music back to a more reasonable level. Extras keep the R. Dixon Smith and Brad Stevens commentary and Luciano Berriatúa's 15-minute documentary (see below). We also gain 15-minutes of outtakes from the original shoot of the film and Treibjagd in der Südsee - an 11-minute short subject from 1940 depicting a South Seas fishing hunt, created from unused material from the filming of Tabu. *I *think* the liner notes booklet is the same (but more compact) containing writing by Murnau, Scott Eyman, David Flaherty, and Mark Langer & Floyd Crosby, along with “A Song for Mr. Murnau” and rare imagery.

A wonderful, romantic, exotic Silent era masterpiece - looking so pleasing in the newer format. An easy Blu-ray recommendation. MoC impress again!

* The reissue version booklet misses out the following...
'Flaherty and Tabu' (by Richard Griffiths)
'Turia, an Original Story' (by F. W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty)
'Tabu (Taboo), a Story of the South Seas' (by F. W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty)
'Tabu, a Story of the South Seas' (by Lotte Eisner)       - thanks Neil!

***

ON THE DVD: Well, the Masters of Cinema Series just keeps bringing us important films to the DVD medium. In their release of Tabu - A Story of the South Seas, directed by F.W. Murnau, the image quality is not without its expected deficiencies - due to the source of the print. Time, and ineffectual storage, have deteriorated the original quality but the DVD presents the film in an extremely watchable format. There are dust and speckle blemishes as well as some light vertical scratches but I expect the progressive transfer reproduces the restored film experience as adeptly as possible on a dual-layered SD DVD. There may have been some selected brightness boosting to decrease the prominence of the damage marks but it is not so great as to unduly impinge upon viewing.  

The film was made in English (although a Silent film) and the intertitles appear to be original. They are slightly pictureboxed. It is advertised on the MoC website as 'New Murnau-Stiftung/Luciano Berriatúa 75th anniversary restoration of the pre-Paramount, longer Murnau-approved version of the film, with uncensored scenes and titlecards for the first time.'

Supplements on the DVD are strong - another good commentary track by R. Dixon Smith and Brad Stevens. Important details are brought up and discussed along with production information. I learned a lot from listening to this commentary track. There is a 15-minute German documentary about Tabu by Luciano Berriatúa (with optional English subtitles) and another magnificent 80-page liner notes booklet with articles by Scott Eyman, Richard Griffiths, and David Flaherty; an interview with the film’s cinematographer Floyd Crosby; and the original story treatments written by Murnau and Flaherty for Tabu and its aborted predecessor Turia.

It's wonderful to have this film on DVD - a real historical document with the commentary and professional book included. If you are any type of film student or one who enjoys Silent cinema - then this package defines itself with its essential value. The Masters of Cinema Series are defining themselves as the Criterion of the UK.  Strongly recommend! 

Gary W. Tooze