An exceptional original 1958 Japanese first-release STB tatekan for Bonjour Tristesse, Otto Preminger’s elegant and unsettling adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s celebrated novel. Starring Jean Seberg, Deborah Kerr, and David Niven, the film combines the apparent freedom of a summer on the French Riviera with a devastating story of jealousy, manipulation, and regret.
Printed in the exceptionally scarce tall, two-sheet STB / tatekan format, this poster incorporates Saul Bass’s distinctive tearful-face artwork into a striking Japanese composition. Oversized scarlet lettering, soft pink and cream backgrounds, deep green borders, and intimate photographic imagery give it extraordinary visual presence.
The combination of first-release Japanese paper, an ultra-rare display format, and one of Bass’s most evocative film images makes this a particularly compelling piece for collectors of vintage posters, modern graphic design, and classic cinema.
Date & Japanese Theatrical Release
Bonjour Tristesse received its first Japanese theatrical release on 29 April 1958, distributed by Columbia under the title 悲しみよこんにちは — “Hello, Sadness.”
This poster belongs to that original Japanese theatrical campaign. The Columbia emblem and Japanese distribution credit remain visible at the foot of the lower sheet, while the advertising prominently promotes the film’s stars, literary source, and CinemaScope presentation.
Now 68 years old, it preserves the original release campaign’s combination of Riviera glamour, youthful romance, and emotional tragedy.
The Film, Its Reception & Its Legacy
Produced and directed by Otto Preminger, with a screenplay by Arthur Laurents, Bonjour Tristesse adapts the novel that made the young Françoise Sagan an international literary sensation.
Jean Seberg plays Cécile, a teenager enjoying an indulgent summer with her wealthy, widowed father Raymond, played by David Niven, and his young companion Elsa. Their carefree existence changes with the arrival of Anne, played by Deborah Kerr, whose relationship with Raymond threatens to introduce responsibility and restraint into their lives.
Determined to preserve her freedom and her privileged position in her father’s affections, Cécile begins manipulating the people around her. What initially seems like a youthful game develops consequences she cannot control.
The supporting cast includes Mylène Demongeot, Geoffrey Horne, and Juliette Gréco. Gréco’s appearance and performance of the title song contribute to the film’s melancholy atmosphere, while Georges Auric’s music and Georges Périnal’s cinematography give the production much of its distinctive character.
One of the film’s most memorable formal choices is its contrast between black-and-white scenes of present-day Paris and colour memories of the Riviera summer. The remembered world is bright and seductive; the present feels emotionally depleted. This reversal gives the film’s beauty a poignant purpose.
Its initial reception was mixed, particularly in the United States, but it found important admirers among the critics who would become leading figures of the French New Wave, including François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. Seberg’s performance helped establish the screen presence that Godard would develop further in Breathless in 1960.
Today, the film is admired for its controlled visual style, moral ambiguity, and sensitive portrayal of a young woman discovering the lasting consequences of her actions. Seberg’s cropped hair, Riviera wardrobe, and combination of confidence and vulnerability remain central to its enduring appeal.
Saul Bass & the Film’s Graphic Identity
Saul Bass helped transform film advertising through images that could express a story’s central idea with remarkable economy. His work with Preminger was particularly important in establishing this approach.
For Bonjour Tristesse, Bass created a stylised female face from a small number of expressive marks: eyes, eyebrows, an elongated nose, lips, and a single falling tear. The image communicates the emotional meaning of the title almost immediately.
This Japanese STB incorporates that motif prominently in its lower section. Here, the face is rendered in dark blue-black ink with a vivid red tear, positioned above the photographic image of an intimate kiss. The relationship between the two images is especially effective: romance appears beneath an unmistakable sign of sorrow.
The Japanese composition brings Bass’s artwork together with local typography, star portraits, and promotional copy, creating a distinctive interpretation of the film’s international campaign.
Design Notes
Monumental scarlet title: The enormous Japanese lettering 悲しみよこんにちは fills the centre of the upper sheet. Its red characters, outlined in pale cream, create an exceptionally strong focal point against the soft pink background.
Saul Bass’s tearful face: The lower panel gives the iconic graphic ample space. Its rough-edged marks, heart-shaped pupils, and suspended red tear introduce an emotional directness that contrasts beautifully with the photographic imagery.
Star portraits across the top: A photograph of David Niven and Deborah Kerr appears beside a separate portrait of Jean Seberg, her short hair and direct expression immediately recognisable. These images establish the principal relationships before the eye reaches the title.
Large romantic photograph: The oversized image of the lovers kissing occupies much of the lower section. Its diagonal arrangement and close framing give the poster an intimacy particularly effective at this tall display scale.
A carefully balanced palette: Scarlet lettering and the red tear connect the two sections, while the deep green border provides continuity from top to bottom. Pink, cream, and warm photographic tones soften the composition without diminishing its impact.
French title and Japanese typography: The compact BONJOUR, TRISTESSE lettering above the face contrasts with the immense Japanese title. Together, they preserve the film’s French identity while giving the Japanese campaign its own unmistakable visual character.
In our opinion, this is an especially interesting design for the film: romantic, sophisticated, and immediately recognisable, with the STB format allowing each element room to make its full impact.
Columbia, CinemaScope, and the Japanese Release Pitch
The upper section prominently announces:
「総天然色・シネマスコープ」
“Full Colour — CinemaScope.”
This promotes the film’s widescreen spectacle and its richly coloured Riviera sequences, although the film itself deliberately combines colour and black-and-white photography.
The line beneath the Japanese title reads:
「天才少女フランソワーズ・サガンのベストセラー小説映画化！」
“The bestselling novel by the brilliant young Françoise Sagan brought to the screen!”
The copy places Sagan’s literary celebrity at the centre of the campaign, while the headline above the portraits promises memories of love, tears, and the emotional consequences of youthful passion.
At the bottom, the original Columbia Pictures emblem accompanies:
「コロムビア映画会社提供」
“Presented by Columbia Pictures.”
Together, these details capture how the film was introduced to Japanese audiences: a prestigious literary adaptation offering international stars, fashionable European settings, romance, and tragedy.
About STB / Tatekan Posters
Japanese STB / tatekan posters were elongated theatrical advertisements, commonly printed in two separate sections arranged vertically for prominent cinema display.
Their large size and practical use made them vulnerable to folding, mounting damage, separation, and disposal after exhibition. Keeping both sections together added another challenge to their preservation.
An original 1958 first-release STB for this title is an exceptionally scarce collecting opportunity. Its appeal extends across several fields: Japanese theatrical advertising, Saul Bass design, Jean Seberg memorabilia, and the cinema of Otto Preminger.
The format also gives the artwork a presence that smaller sheets cannot reproduce. The enormous Japanese title, isolated graphic face, and large romantic photograph become distinct stages in a single vertical composition.
Condition Report
Overall condition: Excellent for its age, with visible signs of theatrical use, handling, and storage.
Colour and presentation: The scarlet title lettering, deep green borders, pink upper field, and dark facial motif retain strong visual impact. The principal photographs remain clear and expressive, and the red tear is particularly striking against the warm lower background.
Verso: The backs show fold impressions, handling marks, spotting, and some image show-through consistent with the age and use of the poster.
Despite these signs of age, the poster retains excellent overall display presence, with its bold typography, distinctive colour scheme, and Saul Bass imagery remaining exceptionally effective.
Please review all supplied photographs carefully—front, reverse, and details—as they show the exact poster offered.
This is an original Japanese first-release STB tatekan poster from 1958.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
A Certificate of Authenticity is included.
