A spectacular and immensely scarce original Japanese premiere billboard for William Girdler’s 1976 animal‑attack classic “Grizzly” – the cult “Jaws on land” horror hit in which a park ranger (Christopher George) battles an 18‑foot man‑eating bear in a national park.
Printed in Japan for the film’s original 1976 theatrical release by Columbia Eiga (コロムビア映画), which opened the film nationwide on 3 July 1976, this billboard consists of three oversize B0 sheets (each c. 106.5 × 147 cm) which combine to an awe‑inspiring display of roughly 3.2 metres in height by 1.47 metres in width. Recently sourced in Ibaraki Prefecture, this is a premier‑scale “head office” configuration intended to dominate a cinema façade at or around the film’s opening engagements – a format produced in tiny numbers and almost never preserved.
Most importantly, the image showcases in near life‑size the original key art painted by legendary American comic‑book artist Neal Adams, the same illustration used on the U.S. one‑sheet and international campaigns and widely celebrated as one of the great 1970s horror posters.
Poster Details
Title: Grizzly (グリズリー)
Country / Year: Japan, 1976
Format: Original Japanese B0 × 3 premiere billboard (three separate B0 sheets)
Dimensions: Each sheet approx. 106.5 × 147 cm; overall display size approx. 320 × 147 cm
Studio / Distributor: Film Ventures International / Columbia Eiga (コロムビア映画配給)
Artwork: Neal Adams – iconic horror illustration originally commissioned for the international theatrical campaign
Description
In its assembled state this billboard has truly cinematic presence. The three B0 panels stack vertically to create an almost life‑size apparition of the killer bear, looming over the viewer in a way that is impossible to convey in smaller formats:
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The upper sheet is dominated by Adams’s roaring grizzly, arms outstretched, claws dripping, fur rendered in explosive brushstrokes against a stark, pale sky. The bear’s head sits almost at human eye‑level on a two‑storey wall, achieving the visceral “18 feet of towering fury” promised by the film’s campaign.
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The central sheet extends the bear’s massive torso down into the midnight forest, its shadow engulfing the scene as the trees recede into a cold blue horizon. At the base, a lone blonde camper crouches by a campfire, her figure picked out in warm flesh tones and white shirt – a tiny, vulnerable human anchor within the monster’s black silhouette.
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The lower sheet carries a huge slab of blood‑red Japanese title calligraphy – グリズリー – running almost edge to edge, with cast and staff credits in crisp black typography and the English title GRIZZLY in heavy block letters. The blue Columbia logo and small technical credits sit beneath, leaving ample negative space so the typography can breathe.
The composition is pure high‑impact 1970s exploitation design: simple, legible from the opposite side of the street, and driven by Adams’s ferocious illustration. In a studio, loft, home cinema, museum or gallery context, it reads less as “poster” and more as wall‑scale pop horror painting.
Rarity
Japanese premiere billboards in B0 configurations are among the scarcest of all Japanese advertising formats. Produced in very small quantities for opening‑run cinemas, they were typically pasted up outdoors or pinned to lightweight boards, exposed to weather, cigarette smoke and heavy handling, then discarded once the engagement finished. Collectors historically favoured smaller paper sizes (B5 chirashi, B2, etc.), so few institutions or individuals ever thought to save pieces on this scale.
For Grizzly, survival in any Japanese format is limited; even standard B2 posters appear infrequently compared with other mid‑70s horror titles. Purpose‑designed B0 × 3 premiere billboards are effectively a lost format:
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We have been unable to trace another recorded example of this three‑sheet Japanese billboard in auction results or dealer archives in Japan, Europe or the U.S., despite the ubiquity of the underlying Neal Adams image in other sizes.
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Contemporary Japanese collectors and dealers generally reference only B5, B2 and press materials for this title, underlining how seldom this giant configuration appears.
While absolute census figures are unknowable, in practical collecting terms this should be considered exceptionally rare, with the realistic possibility that only a handful of examples – if that – survive.
Condition
Condition: Very Good to Near Fine overall for the format; folded as originally issued.
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Three separate B0 sheets, each with the original horizontal and vertical machine folds.
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Light handling, small creases and minor wear along fold lines and intersections, as expected for a billboard of this age and size.
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Small pinholes and minor edge impressions at former hanging points, chiefly in the blank borders.
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Verso shows some gentle age toning and scattered foxing to areas of the reverse paper, with only very slight effect (if any) on the printed face.
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No significant paper loss, no major tears into the image area, and colours remain strong, with the deep blues and fiery oranges of Adams’s artwork particularly vibrant.
Given its sheer scale, age (nearly fifty years), and the usual fate of such advertising, the state of preservation is remarkable and eminently suitable for professional linen‑backing and display in a high‑end interior or institutional context.
Cinematic Significance
Released in 1976, Grizzly is a quintessential entry in the 1970s natural‑horror cycle – a lean, surprisingly brutal thriller in which head ranger Michael Kelly (Christopher George), helicopter pilot Don Stober (Andrew Prine) and naturalist Arthur Scott (Richard Jaeckel) attempt to stop an enormous rogue grizzly bear that has developed a taste for human flesh.
Shot on location in the Georgia wilderness on a modest budget of around $750,000, the film became the highest‑grossing independent production of 1976, earning nearly $39 million worldwide and cementing its reputation as the most successful of the “Jaws imitators.The killer bear itself was portrayed by an 11‑foot Kodiak named Teddy, whose sheer physical presence gives the film an authenticity that has helped it endure as a cult classic.
Equally important to its legacy is the poster art. The original campaign, created by Neal Adams – celebrated for redefining Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow and countless other comic‑book icons – is among the most admired horror images of the era, often cited in discussions of Adams’s work outside comics. In this Japanese billboard, that illustration is allowed to expand to its natural scale, effectively becoming an enormous Neal Adams painting on paper.
Additional Information
Authenticity: Guaranteed original, first‑release Japanese issue, printed in 1976 for Columbia Eiga; not a reproduction or later reprint.
Configuration: Three separate B0 sheets as issued; when mounted together it becomes a single monumental display.
Provenance: Acquired in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, from long‑term local storage.
Documentation: Certificate of Authenticity provided.
A genuinely unrepeatable opportunity to acquire what is, in every respect, a museum‑worthy survivor: a towering, near life‑size presentation of Neal Adams’s classic horror artwork, in an almost unheard‑of Japanese premiere billboard format – the ultimate statement piece for any serious collection of Japanese cinema, horror memorabilia, comic‑art ephemera or 1970s graphic design.
