You searched for: Japan

Slap Shot / B2 / Japan

20.06.11

Poster Poster

George Roy Hill‘s ice hockey comedy was critically panned on release but quickly grew into a cult classic and is considered by many to be the best sports/comedy movie ever made.

This Japanese poster is actually a combination of two of the American one sheets and a promotional still from the film. The artwork by Craig Nelson on the Style A one sheet is combined with the sketch-style artwork (credited to ‘R.G.’) on Style B. The photo of Paul Newman appears to have been taken from this still and his lower half has been illustrated to extend it downwards.

You can watch the original trailer here.

Straw Dogs / B2 / Japan

13.11.12

Poster Poster
Title
Straw Dogs
AKA
--
Year of Film
1971
Director
Sam Peckinpah
Starring
Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna, Del Henney, Jim Norton, Donald Webster, Ken Hutchison
Origin of Film
UK | USA
Genre(s) of Film
Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna, Del Henney, Jim Norton, Donald Webster, Ken Hutchison,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1972
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Legendary American director Sam Peckinpah‘s contract with Warner Bros had come to an acrimonious end after the The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) ended up $3 million over budget and 19 days late. The notoriously prickly director found further opportunities very limited in Hollywood and decided to travel to England to film Straw Dogs, a thriller based on the novel The Siege of Trencher’s Farm by Scottish author Gordon Williams.

Starring Dustin Hoffman in arguably one of his greatest screen roles, the film sees timid mathematician David Sumner (Hoffman) leaving America to live with his English wife Amy (Susan George), in a fictional Cornish village. Before long David’s patience and resolve is tested by a gang of local men who harass the couple and, in a particularly controversial sequence, two of the men take it in turns to rape Amy. As the title of the source novel suggests, the film ends with a violent confrontation, which sees David pushed beyond the limits. Like many of Peckinpah’s films, Straw Dogs was heavily criticised for its violence, although the director defended the film as an exploration of the subject and claimed Hoffman’s character showed his true side during the climax.

This Japanese poster chose to focus on Hoffman as the film’s main draw, likely due to the successes of The Graduate and Midnight Cowboy in Japan at the end of the 1960s. The film seems to have been given unique advertising campaigns in most of the countries it was released in and there were a few US one sheets, including this classic image of Hoffman and a rather strange alternative style featuring a literal straw dog!

The original trailer is on YouTube.

Street Trash / B2 / Japan

25.06.13

Poster Poster
Title
Street Trash
AKA
Horror in Bowery Street (Italy)
Year of Film
1987
Director
J. Michael Muro
Starring
Mike Lackey, Bill Chepil, Vic Noto, Mark Sferrazza, Jane Arakawa, Nicole Potter, Pat Ryan, Clarenze Jarmon, Bernard Perlman
Origin of Film
USA
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1987
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

‘The ultimate melt movie’, the classic 1987 splatter-fest Street Trash is as gore-filled and tasteless as this Japanese B2 poster depicts. A sleazy liquor store owner finds a case of old wine labelled ‘Tenafly Viper’ in his basement and, rather than dispose of it, he decides to offload the case to the local homeless population for a dollar a bottle. It soon becomes clear that Viper is really not fit for consumption and the poor hobos are having literal meltdowns after drinking it. An overzealous cop (Bill Chepil) begins to investigate the deaths whilst two homeless brothers, Fred (Mike Lackey) and Kevin (Mark Sferrazza) learn of Viper’s potency and try to warn others whilst dealing with the machinations of the unhinged homeless Vietnam vet Bronson (Vic Noto).

The blue face at the bottom of the poster is what’s left when the first hobo (pictured to the left) succumbs to the effects of the deadly drink and disintegrates into a toilet bowl, as depicted on the superb US one sheet.

The splendid original trailer can be see on YouTube – “It’s easy to find us…. we’re all over the place.”

The Beastmaster / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Cult filmmaker Don Coscarelli wrote and directed this 1982 sword and sorcery flick starring Marc Singer as the titular prince and the gorgeous Tanya Roberts as Kiri, his love interest. Dar (Singer) is the son of King Zed (Rod Loomis) who, in a bizarre sequence, is stolen from his mother’s womb and placed inside the belly of an ox on the orders of evil priest Maax (Rip Torn). When born the prince is gifted with the ability to telepathically communicate with animals and after being adopted and raised by a lowly villager, Dar is trained to be a skilled swordsman. One day the village is attacked and burned by the rampaging Jun horde who are under the control of Maax, and the warrior sets on a quest for revenge with his animal friends, including an eagle, two ferrets(!) and a black panther.

According to the IMDb trivia page for the film, the black panther was actually a tiger with its fur dyed and whenever the animal took a drink the dye would wash off around its mouth, which is noticeable in several scenes. Also, rather brilliantly, the eagle often refused to fly on cue so in order to shoot footage of it in the air it was dropped from a trapdoor in a hot air balloon.

The artwork on the poster is by Noriyoshi Ohrai who is something of an enigma, even in his native Japan. I’ve been unable to find much about him beyond a few pages like this one on the Star Wars Wookiepedia. He’s responsible for a number of Star Wars posters, including this brilliant 1982 B2 to celebrate the release of the Japanese dubbed version of the original film and the excellent design for The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps his most iconic film work is the series of posters he illustrated for the Heisei era Godzilla films, including this fantastic B1 for Godzilla vs King Ghidorah.

The other Ohrai posters I’ve added to the site so far can be seen by clicking here (note that I also have this poster in B1 size).

The Black Hole / B1 / Japan

11.02.13

Poster Poster
Title
The Black Hole
AKA
--
Year of Film
1979
Director
Gary Nelson
Starring
Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Roddy McDowall, Slim Pickens
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Roddy McDowall, Slim Pickens,
Type of Poster
B1
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
28 14/16" x 40.5"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

A unique and detailed illustration on this B1 poster for the Japanese release of Disney’s live-action oddity, The Black Hole. The film focuses on the crew of a ship (the USS Palomino) returning from a deep-space exploration mission that discovers a black hole with an apparently derelict ship drifting nearby. After docking with the ship (The long-lost USS Cygnus) the crew meets the commander Doctor Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell) and his team of robots, but there is no sign of the human crew. The Palomino’s crew, including Dr Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins) and Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux), must race against time to discover the mystery behind their disappearance and exactly what Dr Reinhardt’s intentions are.

Despite an extremely hokey script and some decidedly dodgy attempts to emulate the success of Star Wars, the film has several things that make it worth a watch, including some impressive special effects (certainly notable in 1979), well-realised space scenes, a great score by the late John Barry and an excellent robot design in the form of the sinister Maximilian (who stands in the centre of this poster). This poster illustrates the moment that the USS Cygnus begins to be torn apart as it enters the black hole – check out the detail of the Palomino’s crew zooming back towards the bridge on the monorail.

Director Edgar Wright is a fan of the film and talks about it on Trailers From Hell – video here.

The other posters I’ve collected for the film can be seen here. Check out this excellent special poster and the B2.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

Note: Although the poster has been on the site since launch I acquired a better condition copy of it recently, which is why I felt it deserved highlighting now.

The Black Hole / special / Japan

13.02.12

Poster Poster
Title
The Black Hole
AKA
--
Year of Film
1979
Director
Gary Nelson
Starring
Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Roddy McDowall, Slim Pickens
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Roddy McDowall, Slim Pickens,
Type of Poster
Special
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
13.5" x 26.5"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

A detailed and colourful illustration on this poster for the Japanese release of Disney’s live-action oddity, The Black Hole. It’s a fairly uncommon size but one that suits the illustration perfectly. Make sure you click the detail thumbnails to see it in its full glory.

The film focuses on the crew of a ship (the USS Palomino) returning from a deep-space exploration mission that discovers a black hole with an apparently derelict ship drifting nearby. After docking with the ship (The long-lost USS Cygnus – as featured on this poster) the crew meets the commander Doctor Hans Reinhardt (Maximilian Schell) and his team of robots, but there is no sign of the human crew. The Palomino’s crew, including Dr Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins) and Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux), must race against time to discover the mystery behind their disappearance and exactly what Dr Reinhardt’s intentions are.

Despite an extremely hokey script and some decidedly dodgy attempts to emulate the success of Star Wars, the film has several things that make it worth a watch, including some impressive special effects (certainly notable in 1979), well-realised space scenes, a great score by the late John Barry and an excellent robot design in the form of the sinister Maximilian.

Director Edgar Wright is a fan of the film and talks about it on Trailers From Hell – video here.

The other posters I’ve collected for the film can be seen here. Check out the excellent Japanese B1 and B2 posters.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

The Company Of Wolves / B2 / artwork style / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

A joint collaboration between two British production companies, Palace Pictures and Lew Grade’s ITC Entertainment, The Company of Wolves was helmed by the Irish director Neil Jordan and based on a short story by the late English author Angela Carter, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jordan. The film begins in the modern day with the  lead character Rosaleen (played by first-time actress Sarah Patterson) having moved with her parents to a large house in a forest. At night Rosaleen falls asleep and has a vivid dream in which she is a medieval peasant girl who lives with her grandma (played by Murder, She Wrote’s Angela Lansbury) in a woodland village. Sitting by the fire one evening her grandma begins to tell her a story and what follows is a series of surreal, fantasy tales, with multiple narratives and narrators, most of which feature wolves or werewolves, and all of which are ripe with hidden meanings and deeper significances (check out this page on IMDb to give you an idea).

Featuring elements of the classic Little Red Riding Hood fairytale (and indeed the film features a blood red shawl worn by a young girl) the film is a parable of the loss of innocence and the beginning of adolescence and sexual awakening – as the Grandma says at one point ‘Never stray from the path, never eat a windfall apple and never trust a man whose eyebrows meet in the middle.’ Overcoming a slight budget The Company of Wolves has a dream-like, eerie atmosphere helped in no-small part by excellent production and costume design. There is also a werewolf transformation scene that challenges the famous one seen in American Werewolf in London. Palace Pictures would re-team several more times with Neil Jordan, including for Mona Lisa (1986) and Oscar-winning The Crying Game (1992)

The excellent illustration on this Japanese B2 poster is credited to the illustrator Sumio Tsunoda about whom I was able to discover next to nothing. A search revealed that this cyberpunk image can also be credited to him. If anyone knows any more details about the artist please get in touch or leave a comment.

The Empire Strikes Back / B2 / artwork style / Japan

14.12.11

Poster Poster
Title
The Empire Strikes Back
AKA
--
Year of Film
1980
Director
Irvin Kershner
Starring
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
Artwork style
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Noriyoshi Ohrai
Size (inches)
20 5/16" x 28 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

A fantastic illustration on this Japanese B2 for The Empire Strikes Back by the Japanese artist Noriyoshi Ohrai which, in my opinion, is the best artwork for the best film in the six film saga. I’d have a hard time choosing between this and Tom Chantrell’s classic design for the greatest overall Star Wars poster artwork.

As well as this Japanese B2, the artwork featured on a Japanese B1 as well as several other international posters, including an Australian one sheet. Sadly it was not to be used for the US or UK campaigns. Last year, for the ESB 30th anniversary, Lucasfilm released a limited edition one sheet of the poster taken from the original artwork transparency – see this article for more info.

Noriyoshi Ohrai is my favourite Japanese artist and certainly in my top five greatest film poster illustrators of all time. He’s responsible for a number of other Star Wars related posters, including this lovely 1982 B2 to celebrate the release of the Japanese dubbed version of the original film. He is also know for a series of Godzilla posters, some of which can be seen here. In March 2014 a retrospective exhibition was held in Japan of Ohrai’s work and I made the trip over to Miyazaki to see the exhibition and I’m very glad I did as it featured most of his original artwork and a whole array of posters and book covers. A full report will follow soon.

The posters I’ve managed to collect by him can be seen by clicking here.

The Empire Strikes Back / B2 / photo style / Japan

27.08.12

Poster Poster
Title
The Empire Strikes Back
AKA
--
Year of Film
1980
Director
Irvin Kershner
Starring
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
Photo style
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

This is the photo montage style Japanese poster for the second (and best, IMO) film in the original Star Wars trilogy. Noriyoshi Ohrai was responsible for the artwork on the superb alternative style Japanese poster.

This version prominently features Cloud City, an outpost and gas mining colony floating above the planet Bespin, and the place to which Han Solo and Princess Leia flee after the battle of Hoth. Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) is the administrator of the city and an old friend of Han Solo who, unbeknownst to the crew of the Millennium Falcon, has cut a deal with Darth Vader to allow the rebels to be captured in return for continued autonomy from the Empire.

Rather brilliantly the character line-up features a Tauntaun, the bipedal reptomammal used by the rebel alliance as patrol mounts on their native planet of Hoth. Also in the line-up is the bounty hunter Boba Fett, many fans’ favourite character in the entire Star Wars universe.

The Fog / B2 / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster
Title
The Fog
AKA
Tåken (Norway)
Year of Film
1980
Director
John Carpenter
Starring
Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman, Tom Atkins, James Canning, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Loomis, Andy Wayne, Hal Holbrook
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman, Tom Atkins, James Canning, Charles Cyphers, Nancy Loomis, Andy Wayne, Hal Holbrook,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1980
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

This is the Japanese B2 poster for John Carpenter’s excellent supernatural horror The Fog, the next cinema release following the directors’ 1978 horror masterpiece Halloween. The film is set in the fictional Californian fishing town of Antonio Bay which is about to celebrate its centennial. What the current residents don’t know is that the town holds a terrible secret; the six original founders deliberately wrecked the Elizabeth Dane, a ship containing a wealthy man named Blake and his five companions who were all suffering from leprosy and wanted to establish a colony nearby. After plundering the wreck and stealing the gold onboard, the conspirators went on to establish Antonio Bay and deliberately covered up their actions.

As the celebrations are being prepared, a mysterious fog bank rolls off the sea which enshrouds the town and surrounding area. Off the coast, a local trawler is also enveloped and the crew subjected to an attack by mysterious glowing-eyed apparitions. Around the same time a young hitchhiker named Elizabeth Solley (Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis) is picked up on the outskirts of the town by local resident Nick Castle (genre stalwart Tom Atkins). As the pair are driving through the fog into town Nick’s vehicle mysteriously cuts out and all the windows shatter without warning. Local radio DJ Stevie Wayne (played by gorgeous ‘scream queen’ Adrienne Barbeau), who broadcasts from a lighthouse on a cliff above the town, is handed a piece of driftwood with ‘Dane’ inscribed on it. She takes it back to her studio only for the wood to trigger a strange sequence of events that culminates with a mysterious voice intoning that ‘six must die’. Over the next few hours the town is subjected to a series of terrifying attacks as Blake and his crew return from their watery graves to claim six souls in revenge for their treatment at the hands of the town’s founders.

The lighthouse featured in the film is actually the Point Reyes lighthouse which is situated to the north of San Francisco in California. In 2010 I visited the lighthouse and it’s an incredibly spooky place, even in bright sunshine. There is a constantly sounding foghorn which is used to warn ships away from a series of underwater rocks just off the coast. I spotted a series of whales moving past the point whilst I was there too. It’s well worth the trip if you’re ever in that area of the world.

I also have the Japanese B1 poster that can be viewed here.

The Giant Spider Invasion / B2 / Japan

27.10.11

Poster Poster
Title
The Giant Spider Invasion
AKA
Orumcek (Turkey)
Year of Film
1975
Director
Bill Rebane
Starring
Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Robert Easton, Leslie Parrish, Alan Hale Jr., Bill Williams, Kevin Brodie, Diane Lee Hart, Tain Bodkin, Paul Bentzen
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Steve Brodie, Barbara Hale, Robert Easton, Leslie Parrish, Alan Hale Jr., Bill Williams, Kevin Brodie, Diane Lee Hart, Tain Bodkin, Paul Bentzen,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1977
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Seito
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 12/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Lurid, no-bullshit artwork by Japanese artist Seito for this 1975 schlockfest, The Giant Spider Invasion. From IMDb:

A black hole hits North Wisconsin and opens a door to other dimensions. Giant 15 meter spiders emerge from it, who have an appetite for human flesh! Dr. Jenny Langer and Dr. Vance from the NASA try to save the world.

As featured on Mystery Science Theatre 3000, the American TV series which lampoons bad movies, the film sounds absolutely legendary:

In a scene depicting the giant spiders attacking a little league baseball game, the spiders are obviously Volkswagen Beetles with puppet legs attached. Tread marks can be seen in several shots. 

Incredibly, the remains of these spider cars were recently found in the woods near where the scenes were shot.

“Pfantz’s steel framework was covered with black Fun Fur to make the spiders both hairy and scary. The mechanical nature of the beast required seven people to be stuffed within the cramped confines of the VW floorpan – a driver and six children to work the spider’s legs.”

Here’s the original trailer.

The Green Hornet / B2 / Japan

09.05.13

Poster Poster
Title
The Green Hornet
AKA
--
Year of Film
1974
Director
William Beaudine, Norman Foster, E. Darrell Hallenbeck
Starring
Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Wende Wagner, Lloyd Gough, Walter Brooke, William Dozier
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Van Williams, Bruce Lee, Wende Wagner, Lloyd Gough, Walter Brooke, William Dozier,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1975
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 14/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Legendary action star Bruce Lee was given his break into acting after being cast as Kato, one half of the crime-fighting duo in the 1960s TV show The Green Hornet. The masked vigilante began life as a radio show that was created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker and aired in 1936. It went on to be produced as film serials and as comic book series in the 1940s, before being adapted for a TV series in the 1960s.

Van Williams starred as Britt Reid, the playboy owner of The Daily Sentinel who runs his media empire whilst simultaneously fighting criminal gangs as the titular vigilante with assistance from his martial-artist sidekick Kato. The series was to only last for one season of 26 episodes but nevertheless proved popular in the States and elsewhere, with Lee being catapulted to fame on the back of the show. In Japan the series was apparently even aired as The Kato Show.

This Japanese B2 poster was printed for the 1975 release of the first of two films based on the character that were cobbled together from several episodes of the TV show and are apparently as incoherent as that would suggest. As can be seen from the design, the emphasis was placed firmly on Lee’s character, particularly since the studio was clearly keen to cash in on the star’s fame following his run of classic action films that ended with Enter the Dragon (1973) and his untimely death that same year.

The Holy Mountain / B2 / 2010 re-release / Japan

10.10.11

Poster Poster
Title
The Holy Mountain
AKA
La montaña sagrada [The Sacred Mountain] (Argentina / Mexico / Peru)
Year of Film
1973
Director
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Starring
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horacio Salinas, Zamira Saunders, Juan Ferrara, Adriana Page, Burt Kleiner, Valerie Jodorowsky, Nicky Nichols, Richard Rutowski, Luis Lomeli
Origin of Film
Mexico | USA
Genre(s) of Film
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horacio Salinas, Zamira Saunders, Juan Ferrara, Adriana Page, Burt Kleiner, Valerie Jodorowsky, Nicky Nichols, Richard Rutowski, Luis Lomeli,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
Re-release
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
2010
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s legendary cult opus was given a limited re-release in Japan last year and this is the poster promoting it. There’s not much point in talking about the film itself other than to say you’re in for a treat if you haven’t seen it. To say it’s a unique experience would be an understatement and, although it’s certainly not for everyone, it’s a film that all self-respecting film fan should add to their ‘to watch’ pile. This bit of trivia on Wikipedia gives you an inkling of what you’re in for:

The Beatles member George Harrison was intended to play the main character but he withdrew when read in the script he had to wash his anus in front of the camera.

Both this and Jodorowsky’s El Topo were released on blu-ray earlier this year. Here’s the original US trailer.

The Man With The Golden Gun / B2 / Japan

16.06.14

Poster Poster

This is the Japanese B2 poster for the release of The Man With the Golden Gun, the ninth James Bond film and the second to star Roger Moore as the legendary secret agent. It’s definitely one of the weaker films in the long-running series and certainly not Moore’s finest hour, but it has several elements that make it worth watching, including a host of interesting far-eastern locales, strong production design and a very memorable bad guy in the shape of Christopher Lee‘s Scaramanga. Guy Hamilton returned as director for the fourth and last time in the series and the script, written by Richard Maibaum and Tom Mankiewicz, takes place amidst the climate of energy worries that followed the 1973 oil crisis. It also reflected the then craze for martial arts movies that followed the release of films like Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon with several kung-fu sequences and exotic locations.

The story starts as MI6 receive a golden bullet with 007 etched into it, leading them to believe that Bond’s life is at threat from the notorious international assassin Scaramanga so they decide to remove him from active duty. The agent was on the trail of a scientist who it is thought could help with the energy crisis and he is frustrated to have been stopped in his pursuit so he sets off to find Scaramanga without official approval. Bond follows a trail of assassinations which lead him from Macau to Bangkok and eventually to Scaramanga’s private island hideout where he discovers that the master assassin has an interest in solar power. Soon Bond is challenged to a duel to the death and he must use his wits to survive the traps set around Scaramanga’s hideout. Dwarf actor Hervé Villechaize has a memorable role as the assassin’s servant Nick Nack, and Clifton James returns as the (perhaps ill-advised) comic relief figure of Sheriff J.W. Pepper, as featured in Live and Let Die.

The artwork on this poster also features on the US one sheet and was painted by Robert McGinnis who is responsible for some of the best James Bond posters, including Thunderball, Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever as well as multiple other classic posters from the 60s, 70s and 80s. He was born in Cincinatti, Ohio in 1926 and was given an apprenticeship at Walt Disney studios before studying fine art at Ohio State University. After serving in the Merchant Marines during World War II, he started work in the advertising industry and later moved into painting book jackets for several notable authors, as well as editorial artwork for the likes of Good Housekeeping, TIME and The Saturday Evening Post. McGinnis’ first film poster was the now iconic one sheet for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, painted in 1962, and he went on to paint over 40 others during his career, including one for The Incredibles in 2004.

To see the other posters I’ve collected that were painted by McGinnis click here and to see the other James Bond posters in the Film on Paper collection click here.

The Outlaw Josey Wales / B2 / style A / Japan

12.07.13

Poster Poster

The Outlaw Josey Wales is widely considered to be one of the best Westerns of all time, and certainly one of Clint Eastwood‘s finest efforts. Inspired by the 1972 novel The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales by Forrest Carter, the film was originally to be helmed by Philip Kaufman who had written the script and been through pre-production before being fired from the set a few days into filming, with Eastwood himself taking the director’s chair for the remainder of the production. Set towards the end of the American Civil War, Josey Wales (Eastwood) is a peaceful Missouri farmer who is driven to revenge after his family is brutally murdered by a sadistic Union officer and his farm razed to the ground.

Wales joins a group of pro-Confederate rebels to fight and when the war ends his group is ordered to surrender peacefully, which Wales refuses to be part of. Following the massacre of most of his group, Wales attacks and kills several men and the Union captain places a bounty on his head as he flees. On his journey, Wales reluctantly picks up a diverse bunch of companions, including two Native American Indians, and he tries his best to evade the union troops and bounty hunters on their trail and start a new life for himself. This was the first film that paired Sondra Locke with Eastwood and was the beginning of their romance that lasted for fourteen years.

This Japanese B2 is the ‘style A’ poster for the film’s release there and there are three B2s in total, including the style C, which uses the same artwork as the US one sheet. This artwork is an adapted version of the alternative artwork as seen on the US 40×60 and half-sheet posters. All original American posters were designed by Eastwood’s long-time film marketing collaborator, the great Bill Gold, and this painting was by an American artist call Roy Andersen. According to this biography Andersen passed away last year but throughout his career he was known for his work depicting Native Americans and Old West images, including cowboys and related scenes. Artnet has an extensive gallery of his works here.

The Terminal Man / B2 / Japan

04.02.14

Poster Poster
Title
The Terminal Man
AKA
--
Year of Film
1974
Director
Mike Hodges
Starring
George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, Michael C. Gwynne, William Hansen, Jill Clayburgh, Norman Burton, James Sikking
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, Michael C. Gwynne, William Hansen, Jill Clayburgh, Norman Burton, James Sikking,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1974
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 5/16" x 28 12/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

This is the Japanese B2 poster for the release of The Terminal Man, a 1972 sci-fi film from Mike Hodges, the director of Get Carter and Flash Gordon, and based on the Michael Crichton novel of the same name. George Segal stars as a computer scientist who, after suffering a series of seizures and violent episodes, agrees to have a microcomputer inserted into his brain. Unfortunately the operation has some unwanted side effects and triggers his brain into craving more violent stimuli, sending him over the edge.

The film wasn’t particularly well received at the box office and was never given a UK cinema release. It was only released on DVD in 2009 as a part of the on demand Warner Archive program.

There’s a strange bit of trivia on the Wikipedia page for the film:  Terrence Malick, the director of Badlands, reportedly has written to Hodges expressing how much he loved watching The Terminal Man.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

The White Buffalo / B2 / Japan

30.09.11

Poster Poster

Who wouldn’t want to see a film featuring a buffalo the size of a small skyscraper?! An exciting illustration for this 1977 Bronson versus beast film, The White Buffalo, which teamed the star with director J. Lee Thompson, a frequent collaborator. The film is often described as a western version of Jaws and was one of a few ‘man versus beast’ tales filmed by legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis in the wake of Spielberg’s mega-hit (including the ’76 King Kong and Orca).

I’m not certain who the artist of this poster is but I have a feeling it may be the work of Seito, one of my favourite Japanese artists. If anyone knows for sure please get in touch. It has a few elements seen on the US one sheet by Boris Vallejo (which features an excellent tagline).

Check out the original trailer on YouTube.”…starring Charles Bronson as Wild Bill Hicock, a man who feared nothing except being afraid!’

A bit of trivia (courtesy of Wikipedia): White Buffalo are considered sacred signs by several Native American religions and have great spiritual significance for them. The animals are visited for prayers and other ceremonies. Apparently they’re so rare that they only occur in one in 10 million births.

Convoy / B2 / style A / Japan

05.04.17

Poster Poster

Convoy was legendary American director Sam Peckinpah‘s penultimate film and his most commercially successful, despite it being critically mauled. It was made at the height of the craze for CB Radio/trucking films, which included the likes of Smokey and the Bandit and the TV series Movin’ On. The film’s title comes from the hit country and western novelty song of the same name by C.W. McCall and Chip Davis that was released in 1975. The song appears during the opening and intermittently during the film, with the latter version being reworked especially for the production.

It’s fair to say that the film is light on plot but Kris Kristofferson stars as long-distance trucker Martin ‘Rubber Duck’ Penwald who ends up leading the titular line of trucks across several states. Following an diner-based altercation with three police officers, including Duck’s long-term nemesis Sheriff “Dirty Lyle” Wallace (a great performance by Ernest Borgnine), a group of truckers head for the Arizona state line to escape prosecution. Lyle ups the stakes and pursues them into New Mexico whilst the convoy continues to grow. The authorities are determined to stop the truckers and Lyle uses the life of a fellow trucker to lure Duck into a trap from which it seems there’ll be no escape.

As had become standard for Peckinpah productions, the film finished over schedule and massively over budget, causing the director to be taken off post-production of the film. Studio staff worked with an editor to trim down a first cut that was over three hours long. It doesn’t particularly feel like a Peckinpah film (compared to the likes of The Wild Bunch, say) but there are certainly some well done scenes and the choices of location are excellent. Some of the editing choices aren’t great, however, with the slow-motion diner brawl being particularly excruciating to watch today. By this point in his career the director’s addiction to alcohol and drugs had become so profound that it would be another five years before he would work again.

This Japanese B2, one of two posters printed for the release in the country, features an image of the titular line of trucks, along with four head shots of what the distributors clearly decided were the key cast members.

Friday the 13th Part 2 / B2 / Japan

02.02.15

Poster Poster
Title
Friday the 13th Part 2
AKA
L'assassino ti siede accanto [You're sitting next to the killer] (Italy)
Year of Film
1981
Director
Steve Miner
Starring
Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Kirsten Baker, Stuart Charno, Warrington Gillette, Walt Gorney, Marta Kober, Tom McBride, Bill Randolph, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Russell Todd
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Amy Steel, John Furey, Adrienne King, Kirsten Baker, Stuart Charno, Warrington Gillette, Walt Gorney, Marta Kober, Tom McBride, Bill Randolph, Lauren-Marie Taylor, Russell Todd,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1981
Designer
Unknown
Artist
Unknown
Size (inches)
20 5/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

Following only a year after the release of the original film, Friday the 13th Part 2 stuck very close to the formula that had made the first film such a surprising box office hit. The film’s original director and producer Sean S. Cunningham decided not to return for the sequel after disagreements with studio Paramount over the direction it should take. Despite the fact that the film’s original killer had been decapitated at the end, the studio wanted to continue the same storyline, whereas Cunningham and others (including make-up maestro Tom Savini) had wanted to make the series more of an anthology with different unique storylines for each instalment. 

Steve Miner, an associate-producer on the original, was tapped to direct the sequel (he would also helm part 3) and the story was set in the same area as the first film with the action taking place at another camp on Crystal Lake along from where the original set of murders happened. The producers realised they could use the character of Jason Voorhees, the supposedly drowned son of the original killer Pamela Voorhees, as the antagonist and it’s revealed that his body was never found.

As a new set of teenagers arrive at the summer camp ahead of the influx of kids, a killer stalks and murders them one by one, in much the same fashion as the original film. The film has a similar jump-scare ending to the first but it’s fudged slightly as it’s not clear whether it was another dream or not. The character of Jason was nevertheless established as the main bad guy and the series would continue successfully for the next 25-plus years. Part 2 was a victim of the original’s success in that the MPAA were a lot more strict in terms of the gore content this time around and several scenes were cut or truncated to appease the sensors.

This Japanese B2 is a lot more interesting than the US one sheet and I’m unsure who is responsible for the art of the axe. If anyone has any ideas please get in touch.

They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! / B2 / Japan

24.02.16

Poster Poster

This is the Japanese B2 poster for the release of the first of two sequels to the 1967 drama In the Heat of the Night, starring Sidney Poitier as the eponymous police detective. The actor had made history in 1964 by becoming the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor (for Lilies of the Field), and 1967 saw him star in three hit films that all dealt with the issue of race and race relations. This included Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, which tackled the controversial issue of interracial marriage that was still illegal in several states, and To Sir, with Love, a British drama that dealt with racial issues in an inner-city school. It was In the Heat… that was the biggest hit that year and the film would go on to win 5 Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Actor for Rod Steiger, who played alongside Poitier.

Three years later, the original film’s producer Walter Mirisch decided there was an opportunity to try and create a franchise around Virgil Tibbs. Without a source novel to base a screenplay on Mirsch hired to two successful screenwriters in Alan Trustman (Bullitt) and James R. Webb (the original 1962 Cape Fear), as well as the prolific director Gordon Douglas (Them!). They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! (the capitalisation is intentional and part of the original title) was named after a famous line spoken by Poitier in the first film and saw the detective, now based in San Francisco, investigating the murder of a prostitute. The death has been pinned on Logan Sharpe (Martin Landau), a street preacher with whom we’re told Tibbs has a long-standing friendship. The film follows the detective as he attempts to prove Sharpe’s innocence whilst dealing with domestic family issues and ends on something of a down note, which I won’t spoil. 

The film was criticised for being a very routine police procedural and certainly had none of the cultural urgency that the first film was able to capitalise on. It was something of a damp squib both critically and at the box-office but that didn’t stop Mirisch producing another sequel called The Organization only a year later. Again that film failed to make an impact, even though it was able to capitalise on the then popular blaxploitation subgenre, but by then Poitier had started to field accusations of typecasting. Virgil Tibbs would thus hang up his badge for 17 years until the TV series In The Heat of the Night, based on the original film and novel and starring Howard E. Rollins Jr., which was aired between 1988 and 1992.

Trick Baby / B2 / Japan

10.10.12

Poster Poster
Title
Trick Baby
AKA
--
Year of Film
1972
Director
Larry Yust
Starring
Kiel Martin, Mel Stewart, Dallas Edward Hayes, Beverly Ballard, Vernee Watson-Johnson, Donald Symington, Don Fellows, Thomas Anderson
Origin of Film
USA
Genre(s) of Film
Kiel Martin, Mel Stewart, Dallas Edward Hayes, Beverly Ballard, Vernee Watson-Johnson, Donald Symington, Don Fellows, Thomas Anderson,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1972
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

A nice photo montage on this poster for the Japanese release of Trick Baby, a 1972 crime caper, often placed in the blaxploitation genre, despite featuring a lot more in the way of plot and character development than many of the films under that banner.  Based on the novel of the same name by the infamous former pimp Iceberg Slim, the film follows two conmen, ‘White Folks’ (Kiel Martin)  and ‘Blue’ Howard (Mel Stewart), as they pull off the biggest score of their lives and inadvertently raise the ire of the local Mafia and a corrupt cop.

The former was given the odd moniker after he was born to mixed-race parents and can pass as a white man, which proves useful for the pair’s criminal antics. The title Trick Baby comes from the other nickname he is given because of his prostitute mother and ‘trick’ father.

The original trailer is on YouTube.

True Romance / B2 / Shotgun scream style / Japan

17.05.11

Poster Poster

Following the shocking death of British director Tony Scott in 2012 there was plenty of discussion amongst fans as to the film that defined his career, which included such films as the none-more-80s Top Gun and several excellent Denzel Washington-starring thrillers such as Crimson Tide. There was only one film that I reached for from my blu-ray collection when I wanted to pay tribute to Scott and that was True Romance, the 1993 crime thriller starring Christian SlaterPatricia Arquette and a whole host of acclaimed actors. Featuring a fantastic script by Quentin Tarantino, the film is arguably the apex of Tony Scott’s directing career and clearly benefits from his skill at injecting energy and verve into every scene. The film is also likely to be the defining role in the careers of both Slater and Arquette who were perfectly cast as Clarence and Alabama, the young lovers thrown together at the start of the film and who set off on a rollercoaster ride that leads them from Detroit to Los Angeles with murderous gangsters on their tail.

Clarence is a film-obsessed, lonely video store clerk who is at a cinema watching a triple-bill of Sonny Chiba films when he is approached by Alabama. The pair strike up a friendship and before the night is over are head over heels in love. The only issue is that Alabama is a hooker, hired by Clarence’s work colleagues as a birthday present, and her pimp Drexl (a memorable Gary Oldman) is a violent drug dealer who none too keen to let her leave his employ. After a violent confrontation which sees Drexl dead and Clarence escaping with a suitcase full of cocaine. The pair first head to see Clarence’s father (Dennis Hopper) and then travel across the country to Los Angeles to see Clarence’s friend Dick Ritchie (Michael Rapaport) who has a potential lead for selling the drugs. Hot on their heels are a bunch of mobsters, as well as a pair of police detectives.

This is one of two styles of Japanese B2 posters and I’ve called this one the shotgun scream style as it features Arquette clutching a shotgun in one of the more intense scenes of the film. The other style features photographs of the rest of the cast and can be seen here.

True Romance / B2 / cast style / Japan

07.04.14

Poster Poster

Following the shocking death of British director Tony Scott in 2012 there was plenty of discussion amongst fans as to the film that defined his career, which included such titles as the none-more-80s Top Gun and several excellent Denzel Washington-starring thrillers such as Crimson Tide. There was only one film that I reached for from my blu-ray collection when I wanted to pay tribute to Scott and that was True Romance, the 1993 crime thriller starring Christian SlaterPatricia Arquette and a whole host of acclaimed actors. Featuring a fantastic script by Quentin Tarantino, the film is arguably the apex of Tony Scott’s directing career and clearly benefits from his skill at injecting energy and verve into every scene. The film is also likely to be the defining role in the careers of both Slater and Arquette who were perfectly cast as Clarence and Alabama, the young lovers thrown together at the start of the film and who set off on a rollercoaster ride that leads them from Detroit to Los Angeles with murderous gangsters on their tail.

Clarence is a film-obsessed, lonely video store clerk who is at a cinema watching a triple-bill of Sonny Chiba films when he is approached by Alabama. The pair strike up a friendship and before the night is over are head over heels in love. The only issue is that Alabama is a hooker, hired by Clarence’s work colleagues as a birthday present, and her pimp Drexl (a memorable Gary Oldman) is a violent drug dealer who none too keen to let her leave his employ. After a violent confrontation which sees Drexl dead and Clarence escaping with a suitcase full of cocaine. The pair first head to see Clarence’s father (Dennis Hopper) and then travel across the country to Los Angeles to see Clarence’s friend Dick Ritchie (Michael Rapaport) who has a potential lead for selling the drugs. Hot on their heels are a bunch of mobsters, as well as a pair of police detectives.

This is one of two styles of Japanese B2 posters and I’ve called this one the cast style. The other features a photo of Arquette clutching a shotgun in one of the more intense scenes of the film. Note that one of the cast members shown at the top of the poster is not actually seen in the film and if you’ve watched it you’ll know which one!

Zorro / B2 / Japan

16.02.12

Poster Poster
Title
Zorro
AKA
El Zorro la belva del Colorado [El Zorro the wild beast of Colorado] (Italy)
Year of Film
1975
Director
Duccio Tessari
Starring
Alain Delon, Ottavia Piccolo, Enzo Cerusico, Moustache, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Giampiero Albertini, Marino Masé, Raika Juri, Adriana Asti, Stanley Bake
Origin of Film
Italy | France
Genre(s) of Film
Alain Delon, Ottavia Piccolo, Enzo Cerusico, Moustache, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Giampiero Albertini, Marino Masé, Raika Juri, Adriana Asti, Stanley Bake,
Type of Poster
B2
Style of Poster
--
Origin of Poster
Japan
Year of Poster
1975
Designer
Unknown
Artist
--
Size (inches)
20 6/16" x 28 13/16"
SS or DS
SS
Tagline
--

French acting legend Alain Delon stars in this 1975 film featuring the character of Zorro, originally created by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley in 1919. Zorro has appeared in countless films, TV shows, radio plays, comics and more, and is an enduring favourite across the globe.

This particular film was directed by Italian Duccio Tessari, perhaps most famous as the screenwriter for  ‘A Fistful of Dollars’, which lead to this version being dubbed ‘The Spaghetti Zorro’. Apparently the film was heavily edited for its release outside of France and had around half an hour cut from it, including several explanatory scenes. The uncut DVD is available through Amazon.fr and features English subtitles.

This Japanese poster was for the film’s first release there in 1975. A friend helped me to translate the main text on the poster. At the top it reads:

アラン・ドロン主演50本記念作品 that roughly reads ‘Commemorating Alain Delon’s 50th film’

The other section is:

世界5000万部の超ベストセラーが生んだヒーローに
人気最高ドロンが挑んだ
剣と愛のロマン・スペクタクル巨編

The original book sold 50 million copies
Alain Delon is challenged to act the hero
A film featuring Swordplay and romantic love

Delon was, and still is, a hugely popular actor in Japan.

The bizarrely catchy theme tune from the film can be viewed here.

Roller Boogie / B2 / style B / Japan

09.05.16

Poster Poster

This is the style B Japanese B2 poster for the release of the 1979 musical oddity Roller Boogie, with a unique, and rather wild, montage that was designed by Kazuo Yuasa. One of those films that’s something of a time capsule, the film was put into production by Irwin Yablans the independent producer who had struck gold a year earlier with John Carpenter’s Halloween. Yablans is credited with the film’s story and the intention was to capitalise on the then craze for rollerskating that was sweeping the States.

 Mark L. Lester (known for Commando and Class of 1984) was hired to direct and Linda Blair (The Exorcist) was given the starring role opposite an award-winning amateur skating champion called Jim Bray who was originally attached as a stuntman but was later given acting lessons when the production struggled to find a leading actor.

Blair plays Terry Barkley a Beverly Hills rich girl who is largely ignored by her parents who are determined to see her attend a prestigious school in New York and carry on as a flautist. One day whilst visiting Venice Beach she meets a hotshot skater named Bobby James (Bray) who dreams of making it to the Olympics. The pair strike up a friendship and eventually Terry asks Bobby if she can teach him how to skate and create a routine for them both so they can compete in a Roller Boogie contest at a skating rink called Jammer’s. Unfortunately a nefarious property developer plans to buy Jammer’s and raze it to the ground, so the pair team up with other skaters to put a stop to the plans whilst practicing their routines ready for the big night.

The film was largely panned on its release but found success with teen audiences and has since gone on to have something of a cult following. Plans for a mooted sequel were scrapped when disco music and roller skating lost their popularity.

I’ve struggled to find out anything about Kazuo Yuasa and this is the only other Japanese poster that I can find credited to him. If anyone has any more information about him please get in touch.