“Death by Hanging” (絞死刑), Original Japanese First Release Movie Poster 1968, ATG, Theatre Used Condition, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) J73B

This is an original Japanese B2 poster printed in 1968 for the first theatrical release of Death by Hanging (絞死刑), directed by Nagisa Ōshima. Produced by Ōshima’s Sōzōsha in collaboration with ATG (Art Theatre Guild), the film is a landmark of the Japanese New Wave, combining black comedy and political confrontation in an extraordinary examination of punishment, identity and state power.

This particular example is theatre used and remains in Very Good / Excellent condition, consistent with its age. There is edge wear around the upper left and lower corners, including small edge tears and creasing, together with a pinhole in each corner. Please look closely at the detailed imagery provided. We have taken the condition into account when pricing. Once framed, this poster will display excellently.

Film background
Released in 1968, Death by Hanging centres on R, a young Korean man living in Japan who survives his execution by hanging. Faced with this impossible situation, the prison officials attempt to reconstruct his upbringing and crimes, hoping to establish the guilt necessary to justify executing him again. Their increasingly absurd re-enactments turn the execution chamber into a stage on which the authorities expose their own prejudices and contradictions.

Ōshima uses this unsettling premise to confront capital punishment, discrimination against Japan’s Korean community and the violence exercised by the state. The film was an important early production under ATG’s programme of sharing costs with independent filmmakers—a model that helped support some of the most adventurous Japanese cinema of the period.

Poster design
The design is dominated by the enormous red title 絞死刑, stretching across a striking silver upper field. Beneath it, a stark black-and-white execution-room photograph places the viewer behind the condemned man, facing a line of watching officials. The hanging rope descends through the centre, linking the title to the disturbing scene below.

An irregular, torn-paper-style boundary separates the silver title panel from the photograph, while 「大島渚監督作品」 — “A film directed by Nagisa Ōshima” appears prominently beneath the title. The advertising copy includes:

「性と犯罪と国家悪の根源に挑む問題作！」
“A provocative film confronting the roots of sex, crime and state evil!”

The restrained palette of red, silver and black gives the poster a forceful graphic presence, closely matching the film’s confrontational subject. Cast and production credits run down the lower right, above a period advertisement for an Ōshima screenplay collection, the distinctive red ATG emblem and the Eirin approval mark.

Condition
Very Good / Excellent — theatre used condition, consistent with its age. The reverse shows age-related toning and scattered handling marks. 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 1968 first-release ATG campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is 58 years old!

Certificate of Authenticity included.