“Paths of Glory” (突撃), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster (1958) Very Rare B2 (approx. 51.5 × 72.8 cm) — United Artists / Bryna Productions — Cinema-Used Q152

RESERVED

A very rare original Japanese first-release B2 poster for Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory — one of the director’s defining early works and among the most important anti-war films of the post-war period. This Japanese release poster features a powerful country-specific design: a soldier surging forward through barbed wire against a blood-red battlefield, revolver drawn, with infantry figures advancing below and the vast white Japanese title 突撃 dominating the lower composition.

This is a cinema-used example, produced for theatrical display at the time rather than preserved as unused stock. It presents very strongly from the front, with bold colour, highly graphic wartime imagery and excellent display impact. Tears have been repaired on the verso using archival tape (not by us); the poster was previously held in a well-known Japanese collection.

Date & Japanese Theatrical Release

Paths of Glory was released in 1957 as a Bryna Productions film, directed by Stanley Kubrick and distributed by United Artists. This poster belongs to the original Japanese theatrical release campaign, issued under the Japanese title:

突撃
— literally “Charge” or “Assault”

The Japanese distributor credit at lower right reads ユナイト映画配給, indicating United Artists distribution in Japan. The lower-left production credit reads ブライナプロダクション作品, identifying the film as a Bryna Productions work.

The poster is especially notable for its period presentation of Kubrick’s name. Along the right edge, the director credit reads:

監督 新鋭 スタンリー・カブリック
— “Directed by the emerging / new talent Stanley Kubrick”

This early Japanese billing is a highly desirable detail, capturing Kubrick before the later international recognition of Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining.

The Film & Its Place in Cinema History

Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory stands as one of the great anti-war films of the twentieth century. Set during the First World War, it follows Colonel Dax, played by Kirk Douglas, as he defends soldiers accused of cowardice after a failed attack ordered by an inflexible military command.

The film’s power lies not in spectacle alone, but in its controlled moral force. Kubrick transforms the war film into a study of hierarchy, sacrifice, institutional cruelty and the absurdity of military honour when separated from human justice. Its trench sequences, courtroom structure and stark emotional restraint already reveal many of the qualities that would later define Kubrick’s cinema: precision, formal discipline, unsentimental observation and a profound suspicion of systems of power.

As an early Kubrick theatrical poster, this Japanese B2 occupies an important place within serious film-poster collecting. Original first-release material for Paths of Glory is scarce in any market; Japanese examples of this quality and graphic strength are especially difficult to source.

The Artwork

The poster’s artwork is among the most dramatic Japanese treatments for an early Kubrick film. A French soldier charges forward through strands of black barbed wire, his body set against an intense red field suggestive of smoke, bombardment and bloodshed. Below him, ranks of soldiers advance through the battlefield in orange-black silhouette, reinforcing the sense of mass violence and impending collapse.

The design is unusually forceful even by the standards of 1950s Japanese war-film advertising. The composition is built on aggressive diagonals: the soldier’s lunging movement, the revolver, the barbed wire and the slashes of painted red all push the eye downward toward the enormous white title. The result is both immediate and theatrical, designed to arrest attention in a cinema lobby or street-front display case.

The Japanese title 突撃 is rendered in immense white block lettering against a black ground, giving the lower half of the poster a stark graphic weight. The contrast between the red battlefield, black wire and white typography creates one of the most visually commanding Japanese posters associated with Kubrick’s early career.

Design Notes

Original Japanese first-release B2: this is a genuine period Japanese theatrical poster for the film’s initial release campaign, not a later reissue or reproduction.

Japanese title treatment: the main title 突撃 translates broadly as “Charge” or “Assault,” a concise and forceful Japanese title that emphasizes the film’s military setting and battlefield premise.

Early Kubrick billing: the right-side vertical director credit describes Kubrick as 新鋭, meaning an emerging or newly prominent talent. This is a particularly important period detail for collectors of Kubrick material.

Period transliteration: Kubrick’s name appears as スタンリー・カブリック, an early katakana rendering seen on Japanese material of the period.

United Artists distribution: the lower-right area carries the United Artists logo and Japanese distribution credit ユナイト映画配給.

Bryna Productions credit: the lower-left text identifies the film as a Bryna Productions work, connecting the poster directly to Kirk Douglas’s production company.

Cast billing: the upper-left Japanese text prominently names Kirk Douglas, followed by Adolphe Menjou, Ralph Meeker, George Macready and Susanne Christian.

Japanese campaign copy: the vertical text promotes the film as a major war drama, emphasizing attack, front-line combat, disgrace, betrayal, bloodshed and “the path to soldiers’ glory.” The copy gives the poster a distinctly Japanese theatrical tone, quite different from American advertising for the film.

Why Collectors Prize This Example

• Very rare Japanese first-release poster: an original B2 from the film’s initial Japanese theatrical campaign, not a later printing.

• Important early Kubrick material: issued before Kubrick’s later international reputation was fully established, with the poster itself describing him as an emerging director.

• Major anti-war cinema landmark: Paths of Glory remains one of Kubrick’s most admired early films and one of the essential anti-war dramas in cinema history.

• Striking Japanese artwork: a bold red, black and white battlefield composition unique in tone and impact, with exceptional display presence.

• United Artists / Bryna Productions markings: clear original distributor and production credits are visible on the poster.

• Extremely difficult to find: original Japanese paper for early Kubrick titles is scarce, and this first-release B2 is especially hard to locate even in Japan.

• Cinema-used character: surviving signs of handling, display and repair are consistent with a working theatrical poster that was used for promotion.

Condition Report

Overall condition: Good / Very Good vintage condition, cinema-used, with strong front presentation.

The poster presents very well when displayed. The red background remains vivid, the central soldier artwork retains strong detail, and the large white Japanese title has excellent visual impact. The United Artists logo, Japanese distributor line, Bryna Productions credit and vertical Kubrick director credit are all clearly visible.

Condition details: the poster has original fold lines, including vertical and horizontal folds, with associated fold wear, creasing, handling marks and age-related surface wear. There is visible edge wear, small nicks, minor tears, corner wear and scattered surface creasing consistent with a cinema-used Japanese poster of this age. Some fold and edge areas show stress and small splitting. There is a small amount of paper loss to the bottom right hand corner - additional imagery provided.

Several tears have been repaired on the verso using archival tape (not by us). The verso also shows toning, tape repairs, old handling evidence and visible show-through / ghosting from the printed front image, all consistent with age, use and prior storage.

The poster is not linen-backed. The repairs are stabilising verso repairs rather than heavy over-restoration. The front remains highly presentable, with no major loss to the central image or title area. As photographed, the sheet retains the authentic character of a rare theatrical display poster from the original Japanese release.

Please review the provided photos, including the front, back and close-up images — they show the exact poster offered.

It is an original Japanese first-release B2 poster for Paths of Glory, not a reproduction or reprint.

It is almost 70 years old!

Certificate of Authenticity Included.