This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed in 1981 for the first release of Escape from New York (ニューヨーク1997), John Carpenter’s razor-edged, synth-soaked dystopian action classic starring Kurt Russell as the immortal anti-hero Snake Plissken.
One of the great “what if?” visions of late-20th-century cinema, the film imagines a near-future 1997 where Manhattan has been converted into a maximum-security prison—until Air Force One is hijacked and crashes inside the walls, forcing the government to send in a single expendable operative with 24 hours to extract the President.
Film background
Co-written and directed by John Carpenter (who also co-scored the film), Escape from New York arrived at the perfect moment: post-Watergate cynicism, urban decay, and Cold War paranoia transformed into sleek genre storytelling. Alongside Russell, the cast is stacked with era-defining faces: Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, and Harry Dean Stanton. The result became a major cult touchstone—hugely influential on action cinema, video games, and dystopian pop culture for decades.
Poster design
This is one of the strongest Japanese B2 designs of the early 1980s, and a standout in the worldwide posterography for the film. The composition is built around that unforgettable central image: Snake’s intense close-up, his eyepatch and face lit in apocalyptic reds, looming over a green-lit Statue of Liberty projecting a beam like a weapon. Below, a collage of Manhattan chaos—gangs, fire, and nightlife menace—creates a perfect “city as prison” mood.
The typography is equally iconic: the huge 「ニューヨーク1997」 title across the top, wrapped in barbed wire, reads like a warning label. It’s bold, graphic, and instantly cinematic—exactly what a theatre-front one-sheet should be.
Condition
Very Good. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is over 40 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
