The Ties That Bind

Tartan Asia Extreme’s Bloody Ties in Stores February 20th

“Gritty…one of the best Korean films of the last few years”
-BeyondHollywood.com

“Fast, dirty and mean…one of the most harrowing crime thrillers
to come out in Korea for some time”
-Koreanfilm.org

LOS ANGELES — Nov. 17, 2006 — For Immediate Release — Continuing the tradition of memorable Asian action thrillers such as Infernal Affairs, The Killer and Public Enemy, Korea’s Bloody Ties arrives on DVD February 20th from Tartan Asia Extreme.
In this uncompromising vision of the gritty Korean underworld, a crystal meth dealer with a tragic past is forced to team up with a renegade cop to take down a powerful crime lord. Reminiscent of the Hong Kong action films of the 80’s but full of the dark and unpredictable machismo of Korean cinema today, Bloody Ties is a sinister and vicious film noir thriller.

Bloody Ties (a.k.a. Bloody Tie) features two of the best actors working in Korean cinema today, Hwang Jeong-min (A Bittersweet Life, Shiri) and Ryu Seung-beom (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Arahan) as well as rising starlet Eol Lee (The Red Shoes, Samaritan Girl, H). The film is directed by Ho Choi and was one of the top Korean box office draws in 2006.

Korea, with English and Chinese subtitles, Bloody Ties is presented in anamorphic widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and DTS Surround Sound 5.1. Special DVD features are yet to be determined.

All releases on the Asia Extreme label are supported by broad-based and multi-faceted consumer advertising campaigns; a comprehensive online viral marketing campaign; and a public relations push to English-, Spanish- and Asian-language media.

Tartan Video’s Asia Extreme is a premiere collection of stylish international cinema from the proven Asian horror genre which shocks, scares and astonishes in equal measure. In the U.K., Tartan has sold over $50 million of Asian product making it Britain’s leading independent film genre.

Hamish McAlpine, the founder and owner of Tartan Films, who are celebrating twenty one years of distributing films in the UK, launched Tartan USA in 2004 with an eclectic and controversial slate of films from established auteurs and up-and-coming filmmakers. Previous Tartan film releases include 2004 Cannes Grand Jury Prize Winner OLDBOY, Michael Winterbottom’s 9 SONGS, the critically-acclaimed Romanian Oscar entry THE DEATH OF MR LAZARESCU and the final film in Park Chanwook’s “Vengeance Trilogy,” LADY VENGEANCE. Upcoming theatrical releases include 2005 Cannes Jury Prize Winner, Andrea Arnold’s RED ROAD and Danish Director Anders Morgenthaler’s half-animated/half-live-action PRINCESS. For more information, please visit www.tartanfilmsusa.com.