“Taxi Driver” / 「タクシードライバー」, Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1976, Martin Scorsese / Robert De Niro, Cannes Grand Prix / Palme d’Or Winner, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) C292

This is an exceptionally well-preserved original Japanese B2 theatrical poster for Taxi Driver / 「タクシードライバー」, Martin Scorsese’s 1976 masterpiece starring Robert De Niro in one of the defining performances of 1970s American cinema.

This specific Japanese release design is especially desirable because it uses the film’s now-iconic image of Travis Bickle walking alone through the streets of New York, set against a stark black-and-white urban background. The large blue Japanese title at the bottom gives the poster a powerful graphic identity, while the design perfectly captures the film’s atmosphere of isolation, urban decay, insomnia, and psychological unease.

Film background
Directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader, Taxi Driver follows Travis Bickle, a lonely and disturbed Vietnam veteran working as a night-time taxi driver in New York City. As he moves through the city’s nocturnal streets, his alienation deepens into obsession, violence, and delusion.

The film is one of the central works of the New Hollywood period and remains among Scorsese’s most important films. It brought together a remarkable creative team, including Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, and composer Bernard Herrmann, whose final score gives the film its haunting jazz-inflected atmosphere.

Taxi Driver won the 1976 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix / Palme d’Or, a distinction prominently referenced on this Japanese poster. It is now regarded as one of the most influential American films of the 1970s and a key work in the history of psychological cinema, urban noir, and modern auteur filmmaking.

Poster design
This Japanese B2 poster is a superb example of restrained, image-led theatrical design. At the centre stands Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, head lowered, hands in his jacket pockets, walking forward with an inward, brooding intensity.

Behind him, the New York street is rendered in high-contrast black and white: cinema signage, adult movie marquees, traffic signs, street furniture, and the hard geometry of the city. The background creates a documentary-like urban field, while Travis appears almost cut out against it — isolated, watchful, and psychologically detached from the world around him.

The Japanese title 「タクシードライバー」 appears in large, deep blue lettering across the lower section, giving the poster immediate visual force. To the right, the English title TAXI DRIVER appears beside the Cannes award mark and Japanese text noting the film’s 1976 Cannes Grand Prix recognition.

The atmospheric Japanese copy reads like a poetic evocation of the film’s nocturnal world, referring to the murmur of downtown, women of the streets, cocktails of light, wet asphalt, the breath of languid jazz, and a New York night quietly opening toward something ominous. This text gives the Japanese release poster a distinctly literary mood, perfectly aligned with the film’s tone.

Collector significance

The poster’s importance lies in its direct connection to one of the most celebrated films of the 1970s. Taxi Driver is not only a landmark in Scorsese’s career, but also one of the defining cinematic portraits of alienation, violence, and urban anxiety.

Japanese B2 posters for major 1970s American films are particularly sought after for their distinctive typography, atmospheric layouts, and strong display quality. This example is especially attractive because it preserves the film’s iconic Travis Bickle image while giving it a uniquely Japanese graphic treatment through the bold blue title and poetic release copy.

As an original 1976 Japanese theatrical poster, this is a genuine cinema advertising piece from the film’s first Japanese release period, not a later commercial print.

Condition
Excellent to close to near mint condition. Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.

This example was unused at the time of release and carefully stored for nearly five decades, giving it unusually strong preservation for an original 1970s Japanese theatrical poster.

The poster presents beautifully, with fresh overall appearance, clean paper, strong black-and-white photographic contrast, sharp blue title typography, and excellent display impact. 

The reverse is notably clean, further supporting the poster’s unused and carefully stored condition.

This is an original 1976 Japanese theatrical B2 poster.
It is not a reproduction or a modern reprint.

It is approximately 50 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.