“Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” / 「戦場のメリークリスマス」, Original Japanese Movie Poster 1983, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) F252

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the original Japanese release of Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence / 「戦場のメリークリスマス」, the powerful wartime drama directed by Nagisa Oshima and starring David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano, and Jack Thompson.

One of the most distinctive international films of the early 1980s, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence explores imprisonment, honour, cultural misunderstanding, psychological conflict, and repressed emotion inside a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during the Second World War. This Japanese poster is especially striking, with one of the film’s most memorable symbolic designs: a bloodied sword, a red butterfly, and a tropical battlefield at dusk.

Film background
Released in 1983, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is set in a Japanese POW camp in Java during World War II. The story centres on the tense relationships between Major Jack Celliers, a defiant British prisoner; Captain Yonoi, the disciplined Japanese camp commander; Colonel Lawrence, a British officer who understands Japanese culture; and Sergeant Hara, whose brutality is offset by moments of unexpected humanity.

The film was directed by Nagisa Oshima, from a screenplay by Nagisa Oshima and Paul Mayersberg, based on writings by Sir Laurens van der Post. The principal cast includes David Bowie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tom Conti, Takeshi Kitano, and Jack Thompson.

The film premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and received major international acclaim for its bold treatment of cultural conflict, wartime trauma, masculinity, and psychological tension. Ryuichi Sakamoto’s score, including the now-iconic main theme, remains one of the most celebrated film soundtracks of the period.

Poster design
The Japanese poster uses a highly symbolic and beautifully composed design. The upper section shows a tropical evening landscape, with silhouetted palm trees and dark mountains beneath a dusky sky. Across this scene stand the four principal male figures, each isolated against the landscape and identified by stylized white signature-style names.

At the centre, a large vertical katana blade divides the composition. Blood runs down the steel and pools across the stark white lower section, creating one of the poster’s most powerful visual motifs. A single red butterfly appears beside the blood, adding a poetic but unsettling contrast between beauty, violence, and fragility.

The principal Japanese tagline at the top reads:

「男たち、美しく。」
“Men, beautifully.”

The lower left features the English title MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE, followed by detailed production credits, including Jeremy Thomas, Nagisa Oshima, Paul Mayersberg, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The lower section is dominated by the bold blue Japanese title 「戦場のメリークリスマス」, with 「大島渚監督作品」 printed above, identifying it as a work by director Nagisa Oshima.

The overall design is elegant, severe, and deeply memorable, perfectly capturing the film’s fusion of beauty, violence, discipline, and emotional tension.

Release note
This poster was printed for the film’s original Japanese theatrical release campaign.

It is an original period Japanese cinema poster, not a later reproduction or commercial reprint.

Condition
Excellent condition. A highly attractive example, with strong colour, clean imagery, sharp typography, and excellent overall display impact.

Please review the photograph carefully, as it shows the exact poster for sale.

This is an original 1983 Japanese theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is now over 40 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.