“Dr. Strangelove” (博士の異常な愛情), Original Japanese Film Society Promotional Poster 1970, B3 Size (c. 36 × 52 cm) P46

This is an original Japanese B3 promotional poster produced for a 1970 Japanese re-release screening of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove (1964). Unusually, it was made for the 94th regular meeting (第94回例会) of a film appreciation society known as f.t. (Film Theatre)—a wonderful surviving piece of community cinema culture, designed to be completed locally with screening details and used to publicise the event.

Kubrick’s satire remains one of cinema’s most lethal comedies—an unflinching, darkly hilarious vision of Cold War logic spiralling into catastrophe. Its reputation has only grown: it has been repeatedly ranked among the greatest American films and among the funniest ever made, and in 1989 it was selected among the first 25 films preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

Poster design
A striking, period-perfect design that feels like a classified dossier turned graphic warning. The sheet is dominated by a stark black-and-grey field of imagery—map-like grids, dotted trajectories, and control-room geometry—suggesting bomber routes, targeting overlays, and the chilling “systems” view of annihilation. A vivid signal-red cloud panel at upper right reads as nuclear atmosphere/fallout, while the title and key typography appear in hard, alarm-like red, cutting through the monochrome as if stamped over official materials.
At the lower half, a line of silhouetted figures forms an anonymous mass—bureaucrats, military, and officials reduced to shapes—contrasted with intense photographic close-ups of crisis faces on the telephone, capturing the film’s mix of authority, paranoia, and absurdity. Small oval portrait cameos add a sly, satirical edge, reinforcing the sense of an “index” of characters in a geopolitical farce.

Text & credits (as printed)
The Japanese title is given large as 博士の異常な愛情 (“The Doctor’s Strange Love”), with the full subtitle beneath: 又は私は如何にして心配するのを止めて水爆を愛するようになったか (“Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Hydrogen Bomb”).
Across the top, the red tagline shouts: “核戦争始まる！奇想天外…あふれるブラックユーモア!!” (“Nuclear war begins! Outrageous, idea-filled black humour!!”). A further line explicitly positions the film as a work by the director of 2001: A Space Odyssey, signalling the renewed attention around Kubrick’s reputation in this era.
Cast is listed (including Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens), with credits noting Stanley Kubrick as producer/director and Peter George as the original author.

Event details (Film Theatre / f.t.)
Along the bottom is the film-society strip identifying f.t.94 第94回例会, with blank boxes for Date (年月日), Location (ところ), and Advance ticket price (前売券 円)—intended to be filled in by the organiser. This practical, “working” layout is exactly what makes the piece so compelling: it is not just a poster, but a functional artefact of how serious film culture circulated in Japan.

Condition
Very Good / Excellent overall, with strong display impact. Light general handling wear is present, including minor edge/corner wear and small imperfections consistent with age and use; the reverse is blank/unprinted with faint marks/toning. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.

It is over 55 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.