Last year came the sad news that UK world cinema distributor supremos Tartan had gone bust. However the good news is that the company isn’t completely dead, as US company Palisades quickly moved in to buy most of the company’s 400+ titles and branded their new division Tartan Palisades.
The company is now pushing forward with re-establishing the Tartan name and bringing some of the best world cinema titles back to DVD in the UK. They’ve recently started re-releasing some of their top titles on digital disc and brought out a few very cool titles. For example, there’s the Euro Killers Box Set, featuring Man Bites Dog, H6 and Tattoo, and a Park Chan-Wook double bill of I’m A Cybord and JSA.
You can add to that the Korean Horror Essential Collection, featuring The Wig, Into The Mirror and Acacia, and an excellent Asian Horror Essential Collection featuring Audition, Dark Water and The Eye, both of which are due out on Monsay (October 26th).
However they’re not just going to mine their back catlogue, as Palisades Tartan also has a slate of new releases planned, including A World Without Thieves and they’ve just teamed up with Metrodome to bring Park Chan-Wook’s new movie, Thirst, to cinemas.
It’s certainly a welcome return for the Tartan name, which has been responsible for bringing many of the world’s best directors to the UK, and has done more than virtually any other company to popularise world cinema. Hopefully it will be able to continue its mission in its new Palisades Tartan form.