“Seven Samurai” (七人の侍), Original Japanese Re-Release Movie Poster 1967, Toho, Theatre Used Condition, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) Q158

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1967 for the theatrical re-release of Seven Samurai (七人の侍), Akira Kurosawa’s landmark 1954 samurai epic. Starring Toshirō Mifune and Takashi Shimura, the film remains one of the most celebrated achievements in Japanese cinema, combining extraordinary action sequences with deeply human storytelling.

This particular example is theatre used, with visible but relatively minor surface abrasion along the top edge. It also has minor signs of handling and theatrical display. Please look closely at the additional imagery provided. We have taken the condition into account when pricing. Once framed, this poster will display excellently.

Film background
Originally released in 1954, Seven Samurai follows a farming village in sixteenth-century Japan whose inhabitants recruit seven warriors to defend their homes and harvest against marauding bandits. Led by the experienced Kambei, played by Takashi Shimura, the defenders prepare the villagers for a desperate struggle, while Mifune’s volatile Kikuchiyo bridges the uneasy divide between farmers and samurai.

Kurosawa combines themes of courage, sacrifice and social division with meticulously staged combat, culminating in the celebrated battle fought through rain and mud. The film’s influence extends far beyond Japanese cinema, including its adaptation as The Magnificent Seven (1960), and it remains a defining work of the samurai genre.

Poster design
The design centres on an imposing close-up of Toshirō Mifune as Kikuchiyo, wearing armour and a helmet, surrounded by a photographic montage of charging horsemen, village defences and combat scenes. The samurai appear across the lower composition, behind the monumental scarlet brush lettering of 七人の侍.

The vertical red advertising copy at right announces:

「世界映画史に燦然と輝く 黒沢時代劇 不朽の名作！」
“An immortal Kurosawa period classic, shining brilliantly in the history of world cinema!”

Printed award notices highlight the film’s 1954 Venice Film Festival Silver Lion, while the Toho roundel appears at upper right. Kurosawa’s director credit is picked out in yellow, and a distinctive musical-notation border runs along the top, right and bottom edges.

The lower margin carries “Printed in Japan © TOHO CO., Ltd. 1967”, together with 〈海外版〉, meaning “overseas version,” and Eirin approval number 67520. These printed details identify the period issue and distinguish the poster’s 1967 campaign date from the film’s original 1954 release.

Condition
Very Good / Excellent — theatre used condition. Please review the photos; they show the exact poster for sale, including both the front and reverse.

This poster is an original Japanese theatrical B2 from the 1967 re-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is 59 years old!

Certificate of Authenticity included.