“A Fine Madness” / 「素晴らしき男」, Original Japanese Movie Poster 1966, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) J279

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the 1966 Japanese release of A Fine Madness / 「素晴らしき男」, Irvin Kershner’s eccentric New York comedy starring Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward, Jean Seberg, and Patrick O’Neal.

Released at the height of Connery’s international fame as James Bond, the film offered audiences a deliberately different performance: a volatile, womanising poet whose refusal to conform creates chaos for everyone around him.

Film background

Sean Connery plays Samson Shillitoe, a gifted but undisciplined Greenwich Village poet struggling with writer’s block, unpaid bills, violent impulses, and a complicated romantic life.

His practical and increasingly exasperated wife, Rhoda, attempts to keep their household together while Samson pursues inspiration and resists every form of conventional responsibility.

When he is persuaded to undergo psychiatric treatment, Samson becomes entangled with the wealthy and sophisticated Lydia West, whose husband is one of the doctors examining him. His confrontational behaviour soon disrupts the clinic, its patients, and the carefully ordered lives of the people attempting to reform him.

The film was directed by Irvin Kershner, who later directed The Empire Strikes Back and Never Say Never Again.

The principal creative credits include:

Director: Irvin Kershner
Original Novel and Screenplay: Elliott Baker
Cinematography: Ted McCord
Music: John Addison

The principal cast includes:

Sean Connery
Joanne Woodward
Jean Seberg
Patrick O’Neal

The film uses broad comedy and social satire to examine creativity, masculinity, psychiatry, marriage, and the conflict between artistic freedom and ordinary responsibility.

Poster design

This distinctly Japanese campaign poster places a large portrait of Sean Connery as Samson Shillitoe at the centre of a photographic collage set against the Manhattan skyline.

Connery appears in an open-collared shirt with dark braces, carrying his jacket over one shoulder and smiling with the easy confidence of the film’s charming but destructive protagonist.

Behind him, the New York architecture establishes the story’s bohemian urban setting.

At upper right, Jean Seberg reclines in a pink dress holding a drink, while a second image shows Samson embracing a woman in bed. At lower left, Joanne Woodward as Rhoda clings to Samson as he gestures dramatically, capturing the couple’s turbulent domestic relationship.

The enormous red headline reads:

「素晴らしき男」

Translated:

“A Fine Man.”

This is the Japanese release title used for A Fine Madness.

Directly beneath appears the star billing:

「ショーン・コネリー」

The smaller cast line identifies:

Jean Seberg
Joanne Woodward
Patrick O’Neal

The vertical promotional copy at right reads:

「喧嘩早くてキッスするとキッス以上を要求する男の腕！
女という女の心をときめかす粋な男！」

Translated approximately:

“Quick to fight—and when he kisses, he demands more than a kiss! A stylish man who sets every woman’s heart racing!”

At lower right appears the original English title:

“A Fine Madness”

The lower-left text identifies the presentation as:

「総天然色」

Translated:

“Full colour.”

The base also carries the Japanese distribution credit for Warner Bros.

The result is a lively example of mid-1960s Japanese star-driven advertising, presenting Connery as an unruly romantic antihero rather than the controlled and sophisticated James Bond.

Condition

Good+ condition. This is a genuine cinema-used example with visible signs of theatrical display and long-term storage.

The principal imagery, title, and credits remain complete. Once framed, the poster should display well, with Connery’s central portrait and the strong red typography retaining considerable visual impact.

The condition has been fully taken into account in the price.

Reference: J279.

Please review all photographs carefully, including the detailed lower-edge image and reverse, as they show the exact poster and its condition.

This is an original Japanese theatrical poster from the film’s 1966 Japanese release campaign, not a reproduction or reprint.

It is approximately 60 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.