There's an interesting line in the announcement on dvdactive.com for Tartan's upcoming Blu-ray releases in the UK:

Tartan Home Video has announced the release of its first wave of Blu-ray titles, starting with Paul Verhoeven's Black Book on the 23rd of August. This will be followed by Park Chan-wook's OldBoy and the classic The Seventh Seal on the 24th of September. Tartan US will also release Oldboy on the 23rd of October. All titles will retail for around £29.99. We don't have detailed specs for each release at this time, but we'll try to update this article as soon as they are available.

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releas...s-blu-ray.html

I hope this information turns out to be true .

Some more U.S. release info:

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=336

Nice... Maybe I should put my tin up for sale to buy the BD version.

I was thinking the very same thing...and this may finally compel me to buy a BD player. Format neutrality (I already own the A-1) would be my preference. Great news indeed!

Very cool. I will be adding this to the tin and putting Disc 1 away somewhere.

Certainly looks to be true:

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=336

and is excellent news!

Hollywood in Hi-Def:
http://www.hollywoodinhidef.com/blog_detail.php?id=123

Just got the official release from Tartan Video USA that they are releasing their first title in hi-def on Blu-ray Disc Nov. 6 ($34.95), the cult favorite Korean thriller "Old Boy."
[Hamish McAlpine, founder of the 21-year-old Tartan Films in the UK and owner of three-year-old Tartan Video USA and its Asia Extreme brand, says in the media release, “To go with Blu-ray was a no-brainer for Tartan. Not only is the format superior to HD-DVD, but also the fact that (more) studios have chosen to release their films on Blu-ray means that this so-called ‘format war’ is over before it has really begun.”

The two-hour, R-rated "Oldboy" is Park Chan-Wook’s revenge tale of a man who’s wrongly been imprisoned for 15 years and is then suddenly released. Given money and a cell phone (and a mysterious young girl who tries to help), he’s challenged to discover who incarcerated him in the first place, but he only has five days to uncover the truth.

"Oldboy," in Korean with English and Spanish subtitles, is presented in anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS Surround Sound 5.1. It also offers original English-dubbed soundtracks.

Here is a list of the special features listed on the media release:

DISC 1 (Blu Ray Disc)

Feature /with optional English dub
Director Commentary
Director and Cast Commentary
Director and Cinematographer Commentary
Deleted Scenes (Standard Definition) with optional Commentary
Original Trailer (Standard Definition)

DISC 2 (Standard Definition Bonus Disc)

5 Behind the Scenes Documentaries:

Making the Film – The Cast Remembers
Production Design
The Music Score
CGI Documentary
Flashback
Cast & Crew Interviews

Featurette: ‘Le Grand Prix at Cannes"

Pro-B

More excited about "The Seventh Seal" coming from Tartan on Blu-ray, especially since Criterion in this country is stuck in the past with standard definition DVDs.

Great price on it right now if you pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seventh-Seal...9231791&sr=8-3

Yes, agreed. Adam pointed out the great price tag for this disc. The above info however (OldBoy) is for the US release.

Pro-B

I will definitely pick this up, but it is a shame that all of the extras are in SD. Hopefully there is some sort of lossless sound as well.

No lossless sound is listed in the specs. Looks like pretty much a direct port of the DVD.

You know, you make an interesting point there. The HDformat Criterion decides on, or if it even makes a decision, may have a greater impact on some DVD buyers than the movie studios.

^ if these formats remain a niche market than I would agree. But, I doubt the format war deciding Wal-Mart crowd cares very much about Criterion or the wonderful films they release. As for me, I am currently HD-DVD capable, but thanks to the Seventh Seal release will be getting a PS3 as soon as the next price break rolls around.

I'm guessing the video will be in HD.

Considering that the same sentence that lists the audio specs also mentions "anamorphic widescreen," which doesn't exist on Blu-Ray, I'm assuming that those particular specs were lifted directly from the original DVD press-release, and as such the final Blu-Ray specs may be different. Besides, "DTS" on Blu-Ray could mean something like DTS-HD MA.

Merged with an older thread.

I know that's in the original article, but bolding and italicizing that kinda makes it sound like baiting. I'd really just as soon not have any "my format is better than yours!" arguments on here, and emphasizing text like that seems like a kind of an indirect way of making those same sorts of jabs.

Toshiba owns the theatrical rights in Japan. Does anyone know who owns the home video rights there? imdb doesn't list anyone.

I don't know who owns the rights in Japan, but a HD DVD of Oldboy was released there last year:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TDHY-9005

No English subs though, which has probably limited imports of it.

right! I forgot about that release (solely because of the lack of english subs).

It is a shame that the special features aren't in HD. Looking forward to checking out the movie in HD though.

Agreed. We know you like BD, Pro-b. Just ease it back a bit. The format war won't be won or lost on DVD Talk.

I'm sure the Seventh Seal will be a great demo disc for the Blu-Ray player...





I'll stick with my criterion disc.

I agree. I watched Casablanca which a lot of people raved about and was not impressed at all.

Do you just buy Blu-ray discs to demo your home theater? Or to enjoy great films in the best quality possible at the moment? I dont know what the Seventh Seal disc will look like cause it's not out but what makes you think it won't look good? Do you work for Tartan?

Tell me about it. The colors were HORRIBLE.

Here's the hi-res cover work:



Pro-B