“ONE PLUS ONE / Sympathy for the Devil” (1996), ORIGINAL JAPANESE B1 THEATRICAL POSTER, JEAN-LUC GODARD / THE ROLLING STONES, Scarce B1 Oversize, Original Japanese Re-Release Campaign for the 1968 film (1996), c. 72.8 × 103 cm (28.7 × 40.6 in) IA31
An exceptional original Japanese B1 theatrical poster for Jean-Luc Godard’s One Plus One—the 1968 film widely also known under the release title Sympathy for the Devil. Issued for the film’s 1996 Japanese re-release, this is a striking, highly graphic design: bold black, red, and blue typography dominates the left side, while a vertical strip of stills at right presents a sequence of images from both the Rolling Stones recording sessions and Godard’s staged political tableaux. The result is clean, modern, and unmistakably art-house in tone.
For collectors, this is a genuinely difficult format. The standard Japanese theatrical poster size is B2; B1 is the much larger oversize display format, produced for more limited cinema placement and encountered far less often today—especially for a specialist repertory re-release such as this.
For a title as important and unconventional as One Plus One, the combination of 1996 Japanese re-release status, oversize B1 format, and a poster design that so effectively captures both the film’s musical and political dimensions makes this a particularly desirable piece of Godard and Rolling Stones cinema paper.
Date & Japanese Theatrical Release
Originally made in 1968, One Plus One was reissued theatrically in Japan in 1996, and this B1 poster corresponds to that Japanese re-release campaign. The lower text includes the 1996 Comstock release credit, confirming it as a genuine period poster from that reissue rather than later decorative material.
The Film & Its Place in Cinema History
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, One Plus One occupies a singular position in both film history and music documentary history. The film intercuts footage of The Rolling Stones—including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman—working in the studio on the construction of “Sympathy for the Devil”, with politically charged, semi-theatrical sequences reflecting Godard’s late-1960s revolutionary concerns.
The result is neither a conventional concert film nor a straightforward documentary. Instead, it is a work about process, performance, politics, image-making, and cultural upheaval. That tension is central to the film’s reputation and to the significance of this poster: it represents not only a major title in Godard’s political period, but also one of the most discussed cinematic documents connected to the Rolling Stones.
The title One Plus One is especially important. It was Godard’s original preferred title, reflecting an open process of accumulation and construction rather than a simple completed result. This distinguishes it from the alternate release title Sympathy for the Devil, which foregrounded the song and the band. Posters from later reissues that restore the emphasis on One Plus One are therefore of particular interest to collectors who value the film in its more original conceptual framing.
Design Notes
This sheet is a superb and highly distinctive example of 1990s Japanese art-house poster design, made even more impressive at B1 scale:
Bold typographic structure: the left side is dominated by large block lettering—JEAN-LUC GODARD / ONE / PLUS / ONE / THE ROLLING STONES—giving the poster immediate graphic strength.
Three-colour palette: the use of black, red, and blue against a white ground is simple but highly effective, lending the design a modernist clarity entirely suited to Godard.
Vertical strip of film stills: the right-hand column presents a sequence of images capturing both studio recording sessions and the film’s political-performance elements, effectively summarising the work’s dual structure.
Music and politics in one composition: candid scenes of the Stones at work sit beside provocative, staged imagery, reflecting the film’s unusual identity as both creative documentary and ideological essay.
Re-release framing: the emphasis on ONE PLUS ONE rather than only Sympathy for the Devil reflects the 1996 reissue’s alignment with Godard’s original conception of the film.
At B1 size, the design has a real poster-room or gallery presence. It is visually restrained, intellectually sharp, and highly collectible.
The Japanese B1 Format and Why It’s So Hard to Find
Japan’s standard theatrical poster size is B2, and that was the primary format for most cinema campaigns. B1 is a separate oversize category used for more limited, higher-impact display placements such as lobby cases and premium in-theatre locations. As a result, original B1 posters are markedly scarcer than their B2 counterparts.
That scarcity is even more pronounced for art-house and repertory re-release titles, which were typically printed in smaller quantities than mainstream commercial releases. No official print figures are publicly available for this style, but the practical reality is clear: far fewer B1s were produced, displayed, and saved. For that reason, original B1 examples for important Godard-related releases remain notably difficult to locate today.
About the Filmmaker: Jean-Luc Godard, The Rolling Stones & One Plus One
By the late 1960s, Jean-Luc Godard had moved decisively beyond the already radical achievements of the French New Wave into more overtly political and formally experimental territory. One Plus One is one of the clearest examples of that shift: a film that refuses easy categorisation and instead invites viewers to think about sound, image, labour, ideology, celebrity, and revolution.
The poster reflects that complexity extremely well. Rather than relying on a single dominant image, it uses typography and fragments—words, stills, names, moments—to evoke the film’s process-based structure. That makes this sheet especially satisfying as a collector’s object: it is not only an advertisement, but also a graphic interpretation of the film’s method and meaning.
Condition Report
Overall presentation: Excellent (close to near mint)
This is a highly displayable original example with clean, strong colour, sharp typography, and very attractive overall front presentation.
Authenticity: Original 1996 Japanese B1 re-release theatrical poster — not a reproduction or modern reprint.
