OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

The last few months have been an interesting time for us here at Tartan HQ.  It’s been a time for embracing what is new, whilst re-assessing and re-evaluating what has gone before. 

There has been much preparation for our new website (to which: welcome, by the way), and many of us have been throwing ourselves into the production work required for our first raft of Blu-ray Discs.  For those of you who don’t know, Blu-ray is a new High Definition video disc format which, compared to DVD, offers superior image and sound quality when used in conjunction with an HD TV and the appropriate playback device, and which looks set to play an integral part in the High Definition future of home entertainment.

Alongside the Blu-ray Disc (BD) releases of modern classics such as Black Book and Oldboy, Tartan took the decision, early in 2007, to make The Seventh Seal one of its very first High Definition releases.  Perfecting our approach to producing BDs has therefore inevitably meant spending increasing amounts of time in the company of the work of Ingmar Bergman, and in the presence of possibly the greatest film of all time: The Seventh Seal (1957).

As a result of all of this activity, The Seventh Seal, and its presentation via the very latest in home entertainment innovations, has come to epitomize for us the ultimate meeting point for what is “old” and what is “new”.  And it was exactly this question of the distance between the then and the now that was to have been the driving force behind Tartan’s re-issuing of this great film on BD: 2007 is in fact The Seventh Seal’s 50 Anniversary year.

However, when the sad news of Ingmar Bergman’s death reached us at the end of July, the planned Blu-ray release took on new significance, and the stark contrast between what has now passed and what is yet to come was brought home to us.  It is, therefore, very humbling to know that we will be in the extraordinary position of releasing the world’s very first High Definition edition of an Ingmar Bergman title.  And, more than anything, it is our sincere hope that the 50th Anniversary edition we have prepared of The Seventh Seal will stand as a fitting tribute to a great director whose life and work Tartan has always championed, and will continue to do so.  For more news on the specifications for the release, please keep an eye out on this site, as we will publish all details here shortly.  Suffice to say, though, that we think fans will be more than a little pleased with the additional content that Tartan has managed to get together for the release.

Furthermore, as new technology allows for greater clarity and a richer and richer entertainment experience, we’re delighted to say that alongside our continued commitment to all that is new and challenging in modern film-making, we’ll continue to stay true to our belief that DVD and Blu-ray Disc should be used as a means to showcase the many important and truly great works from the rich history of cinema.  “Out with the old” for us should perhaps better read “Out now, or in the near future, with the old” on ever-newer and more diverse formats.

We fully intend to make this website the place for you to visit for all your information needs regarding our new releases of films old and new.  And we hope you’ll let us know what you think of both the site and our releases.