“High and Low” (天国と地獄), Original Japanese Re-Release Speed Movie Poster 1968, Rare Format (c. 26 × 73 cm) N102A
This is an original Japanese speed poster printed for the 1968 theatrical re-release / “New Print” campaign of High and Low (天国と地獄), Akira Kurosawa’s landmark crime thriller. Originally released in 1963 and based on Ed McBain’s novel King’s Ransom, the film stars Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, and Tsutomu Yamazaki.
This is an exceptionally rare slim vertical speed-poster format, measuring approximately 26 × 73 cm, and is especially desirable because it uses a stark, typography-led design rather than conventional photographic stills or illustrated character imagery.
Film background
High and Low is one of Kurosawa’s greatest modern dramas: a tightly constructed kidnapping thriller that begins as a moral crisis inside an executive’s hilltop home before descending into the heat, poverty, and desperation of Yokohama’s lower city. Mifune plays Kingo Gondo, a wealthy shoe-company executive forced into an impossible decision when a kidnapping plot mistakenly targets his chauffeur’s son instead of his own.
The film is celebrated for its extraordinary structure, shifting from chamber drama to police procedural to urban noir. Its Japanese title 天国と地獄 — literally “Heaven and Hell” — perfectly captures the film’s social contrast between wealth and poverty, privilege and desperation, moral idealism and criminal violence.
Poster design
This speed poster is a superb example of late-1960s Japanese re-release design. The composition relies almost entirely on forceful typography: a deep black background is cut by enormous yellow brush-calligraphy spelling the title 天国と地獄, running vertically down the centre with tremendous graphic impact. The raw brushwork gives the poster a sense of urgency, violence, and psychological pressure.
To the right, bold red vertical text reads 黒沢明監督作品 — “A film directed by Akira Kurosawa.” This director-focused presentation reflects Kurosawa’s prestige by the late 1960s, when his earlier works were being reintroduced to audiences through official revival screenings and “new print” campaigns.
The left side lists the major cast in clean white vertical type, including Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa, Tsutomu Yamazaki, and Tatsuya Mihashi. Near the centre-left, the small bracketed text 〈ニュー・プリント〉 identifies this as a New Print theatrical re-release poster. The Toho roundel appears at upper left, with the Eirin approval mark at lower left and Toho distribution credits printed at lower right.
The overall effect is austere and commanding: a poster that communicates Kurosawa’s authority and the film’s moral extremity through graphic discipline alone.
About the format
Japanese speed posters were narrow theatrical advertisements designed for quick, high-visibility display in cinema approaches, theatre-front speed frames, station areas, narrow walls, and other compact promotional spaces. Their slim format allowed them to be read instantly from a distance, often in crowded urban environments.
Because they were short-term public display items, speed posters were frequently folded, pinned, taped, pasted, handled, or discarded. Surviving examples for major Kurosawa titles are therefore considerably scarcer than standard B2 posters, especially in strong displayable condition.
Condition
Excellent vintage condition.
Please review the photos; they show the exact poster for sale.
This is an original Japanese theatrical speed poster from the 1968 “New Print” re-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is over 58 years old!
Certificate of Authenticity included.
