“Battle of Britain”, Original Japanese First Release STB Movie Poster 1969, STB Size (51 × 146 cm) K359

This is an original Japanese STB / Tatekan poster produced for the film’s first Japanese theatrical release in 1969. Battle of Britain was released in Japan under the emphatic title Kūgun Daisenryaku (空軍大戦略), approximately meaning “Grand Air-War Strategy.” Directed by Guy Hamilton and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz, the film features an extraordinary international cast led by Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Robert Shaw, Christopher Plummer, Curt Jürgens, Susannah York, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave, Harry Andrews, and Kenneth More.

Released in Japan by United Artists on 26 September 1969, this exceptionally scarce two-panel poster is a spectacular surviving example of late-1960s Japanese large-format theatrical advertising.

Film background

Set during the summer and early autumn of 1940, Battle of Britain dramatises the decisive struggle between Britain’s Royal Air Force and Nazi Germany’s Luftwaffe for control of the skies above Britain.

Rather than centring the story upon a single fictional hero, the film moves between commanders, pilots, radar operators, ground crews, government figures, and civilians on both sides of the conflict. This ensemble structure gives the film the scale of a panoramic historical chronicle, presenting the battle as a vast military and national undertaking.

The production became particularly renowned for its ambitious aerial photography. Large-scale flying sequences were staged using surviving British aircraft, Spanish-built Hispano Aviación Buchón fighters modified to represent Messerschmitt Bf 109s, full-sized replicas, miniatures, and extensive practical effects. The result gives its aerial combat a physical weight and visual authenticity rarely matched by later war films.

Poster design

This spectacular Japanese STB divides the film’s enormous cast, aerial warfare, and national symbolism across two sharply contrasting panels.

The upper sheet begins with a panoramic profile montage of Allied and German commanders and airmen, their faces forming an almost continuous human horizon beneath a turbulent blue-grey sky.

Above them, the red campaign headline declares:

「世界映画界が誇る最高のスタッフが可能な限りの巨大な物量を投じて再現する感動の大戦略！」

Approximately:

“A stirring grand strategy recreated by the finest talent in world cinema, using the greatest resources possible!”

Below the portraits, the design erupts into an extraordinary painted vision of aerial warfare. Fighters and bombers sweep through a dense inferno of orange, ochre, black, and white, while explosions descend towards the devastated city below. The expressionistic background transforms the aircraft into dark silhouettes cutting through fire and smoke, giving the upper panel the quality of a monumental wartime mural.

The lower sheet changes dramatically to a clean cream field dominated by the enormous vermilion title:

「空軍大戦略」

Beside it, a brilliantly stylised ribbon interweaves the colours and imagery of the British Union Jack and Nazi German banner, knotting them around the original English title Battle of Britain. The design compresses the entire conflict into two opposing national symbols, while two small aircraft peel away from the central motif on sweeping coloured trails.

The technical billing reads:

「テクニカラー　超ワイドフレーム　パナビジョン」

“Technicolor / Ultra-Wide-Frame Panavision.”

The vertical red campaign copy states:

「おどろくべきスケールで見せるベルリン対ロンドンの戦い！全篇中3分の2が大空中戦シーン」

Approximately:

“The battle of Berlin versus London presented on an astonishing scale! Two-thirds of the entire film consists of great aerial-combat scenes!”

The lower section carries the extensive all-star cast roster together with credits for producer Harry Saltzman, director Guy Hamilton, screenwriter James Kennaway, cinematographer Freddie Young, and technical adviser Robert Stanford Tuck.

The original United Artists marking, Eirin registration number 44249, Technicolor branding, and Panavision credit provide clear period campaign provenance.

About STB / Tatekan posters

STBs, or Tatekan posters, are among the most distinctive and desirable Japanese theatrical formats. A complete example consists of two separately printed B2-sized panels, each measuring approximately 51.5 × 72.8 cm, which combine to form a poster measuring approximately 51.5 × 145.6 cm overall.

The sheets were designed to be aligned vertically for display in standing signboards, cinema entrances, pillars, and other narrow, high-visibility locations.

Because both correctly matched original panels must survive together, complete vintage STBs are considerably rarer than conventional Japanese B2 posters. Their dramatic proportions and large-scale imagery give them exceptional display presence.

Condition

Excellent. The two original panels form a complete, correctly matched set. The painted aerial-combat imagery, panoramic cast montage, strong vermilion title, and graphic national-symbol design retain excellent visual impact. Please review the photographs—they show the exact poster for sale.

This poster is an original Japanese theatrical STB from the 1969 first-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or a modern reprint.

It is approximately 57 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.