This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed in 1966 for the Japanese release of Navajo Joe, released in Japan under the title さすらいのガンマン (Sasurai no Ganman / “Wandering Gunman”). Directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Burt Reynolds, Nicoletta Machiavelli, and Aldo Sambrell, the film is one of the key early Spaghetti Westerns of the decade, with a powerful score by Ennio Morricone.
Film background
Released in 1966, Navajo Joe follows a lone Native American survivor on a relentless campaign of revenge after his tribe is massacred by outlaws. The film belongs to the formative period of the Spaghetti Western, when Italian filmmakers were reshaping the American frontier into something harsher, more stylised, and more morally ambiguous. For collectors, the title is especially appealing because it combines Corbucci’s brutal, visual storytelling, Morricone’s unmistakable musical atmosphere, and an early major starring role for Burt Reynolds before his later international superstardom.
Among 1960s imported westerns in Japan, Navajo Joe stands out for its severity and mood. It is less romantic than the classical American western and more mythic, violent, and solitary—qualities that Japanese poster designers often translated with unusual sophistication.
Poster design
This is a superb and highly atmospheric Japanese design. The composition is dominated by a huge close-up of Burt Reynolds as Navajo Joe, hat low and revolver raised, his face rendered with a striking mixture of menace, exhaustion, and determination. Beneath him stretches a stark desert scene with a lone rider and a line of hanging bodies, reinforcing the film’s revenge narrative and its bleak emotional tone.
The large red Japanese title cuts powerfully across the centre, while the smaller English title NAVAJO JOE appears below at right. What makes this poster especially strong is its restraint: rather than relying on action montage, it focuses on character, isolation, and threat. The result is exactly the sort of country-of-origin Japanese western poster that collectors prize—bold, graphic, and psychologically charged.
Condition
Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.
It is over 60 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
