“Sky Riders” (スカイライダーズ), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1976, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) ZA130

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1976 for the first Japanese theatrical release of Sky Riders (スカイライダーズ), the action-adventure film directed by Douglas Hickox and starring James Coburn, Susannah York, Robert Culp, and Charles Aznavour. Japanese film references record the film’s domestic release as 3 November 1976, with distribution by 20th Century Fox.

Film background
Sky Riders is a lean, high-concept rescue thriller built around one of the film’s great visual hooks: a hostage-recovery mission using hang gliders. Set against the dramatic landscape of Greece, the story follows a desperate effort to save kidnapped family members held in an almost inaccessible mountaintop stronghold. Produced by Terry Morse Jr., with music by Lalo Schifrin, the film remains especially memorable for its unusual blend of 1970s action cinema, aerial stunt work, and cliffside suspense.

Poster design
This is a superb and highly dynamic original Japanese release design. The composition is dominated by the spectacular image of hang gliders and helicopters converging on the blazing rock fortress, instantly conveying the film’s central stunt concept. Below, James Coburn and the principal cast are set against smoke, gunfire, and chaos, while the huge red Japanese title crashes across the bottom with tremendous force. It is exactly the sort of bold, high-impact country-of-origin design that makes Japanese action posters of the 1970s so appealing: graphic, explosive, and immediately cinematic.

Condition
Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale. 

It is almost 50 years old!

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.