"Dodes'ka-den", Original Release Japanese Speed Poster 1970, Speed Poster Size (c.26 cm × 75 cm) N27

This is an original Japanese poster printed in 1970 for the first release of Dodes'ka-den (どですかでん), Akira Kurosawa’s first colour feature.

Film background
Adapted from Shūgorō Yamamoto’s novel A Town Without Seasons, Dodes'ka-den weaves a mosaic of lives in a Tokyo shantytown—centred on young Rokkuchan, a mentally disabled boy who imagines driving an imaginary trolley, chanting “dodes’ka-den, dodes’ka-den” (“clickety-clack”). Kurosawa’s bold chromatic palette and episodic structure marked a radical departure from his earlier jidaigeki epics, earning an Academy Award® nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and later cult status among cinephiles.

Poster design
Printed in the tall speed-poster format, this design features:

• A large stylised line-drawing of Rokkuchan saluting, rendered in stark black ink with a muted beige wash. The artwork is by Akira Kurosawa himself. Minimalist black field below, punctuated only by the yellow hand-painted title どですかでん.

• Cast and crew credits flanking the central image in red, green, and white type—an avant-garde composition that mirrors the film’s experimental spirit.
  Speed posters were produced in much smaller quantities than standard B2s, making surviving examples for an auteur classic like Kurosawa’s especially scarce and desirable.

This poster is in excellent condition. Please refer to the imagery (both front and back) as this is the exact poster that is for sale.

It is over 55 years old!

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.