"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1966, STB Size (51x145cm) O415
Japanese title: 「続・夕陽のガンマン／地獄の決斗」 (Zoku Yūhi no Ganman / Jigoku no Kettō — “Sequel: The Gunman of the Setting Sun / Duel in Hell”)
Size: STB / 20 × 57 in (51 × 145 cm)
Country / Studio: Japan / United Artists (Toho‑Towa distribution)
Why this is a holy grail
Sergio Leone’s capstone to the Dollars Trilogy—Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach; music by Ennio Morricone—is arguably the single most influential western released in Japan. It landed amid a feedback loop between East and West: Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961) inspired Leone’s Fistful of Dollars (1964), which reignited Japanese interest in western outlaws as cinematic “ronin.” By 1966, Spaghetti Westerns dominated Japanese marquees, and STB tatekans like this were posted on street‑side wooden stands as towering beacons—few survived.
Design highlights
This is the Japanese school at its best: an extreme, grainy close‑up of Eastwood—squint, cigarillo, nickel‑plated revolver—fills the center; the blood‑orange sun and lone silhouette conjure a Noh‑like stage against which violence plays out. The gigantic vertical title strokes in red announce impact at 30 meters. The white copy cascading down the sunset reads in essence:
“He’ll paint the sky the color of blood; when the sun sinks and that wandering whistle sounds, the man burdened with the curse of the dead settles the score.”
Credits at left place Director: Sergio Leone, Producer: Alberto Grimaldi, Music: Ennio Morricone, and star billing for Eastwood, Van Cleef, Wallach—set in crisp vertical katakana.
Cultural impact
Morricone’s cues (“The Ecstasy of Gold,” the coyote‑yodel main theme) permeated Japanese media; Eastwood’s “Man with No Name” became a style icon in magazines; and the poster’s face‑as‑landscape composition influenced local ad art across genres. Among all international paper on this title, Japanese verticals are widely regarded as top‑tier, competing with (and often surpassing) Italian and U.S. materials for design sophistication.
Condition
Excellent, unrestored, previously folded and subsequently stored flat for many years. Colors remain very rich; a commanding display piece in this near‑mythic format. Please see detailed imagery provided.
Authentication
Guaranteed original; Certificate of Authenticity included.
About STB (Tatekan) posters
STBs are tall, two‑sheet verticals (c. 51 × 145 cm) printed on thin stock and designed to be posted outdoors on purpose‑built wooden stands at cinemas and busy transit approaches. They functioned as mini billboards; because they were exposed to weather and changed frequently, most were discarded. Original survivors are ultra‑rare, especially for Spaghetti Westerns at the height of their Japanese popularity.
