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“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197
“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197

“L’Aigle à Deux Têtes” (双頭の鷲), Ultra‑Rare Original Japanese B2 First‑Release Poster — 1953 First Japanese Release (24 June 1953) — approx. 20.3 × 28.7 in (51.5 × 72.8 cm) P197

Sale price $500.00

This is an original Japanese poster printed in 1953 for the first Japanese theatrical release of Jean Cocteau’s L’Aigle à deux têtes, released in Japan as 双頭の鷲. Produced in B2 format specifically for the film’s initial Japanese run, it opened in Japan on 24 June 1953. It is a historically specific first-run Japanese release piece.

About the film
Directed by Jean Cocteau.
Starring Edwige Feuillère, Jean Marais, Silvia Monfort, Jean Debucourt, Jacques Varennes.

Adapted by Cocteau from his own play, it reunites the principal stars from the stage version; as the BFI notes, Cocteau deliberately retained the theatrical nature of the source while opening it outward for cinema. The story follows a widowed queen, still living in seclusion ten years after her husband’s assassination, and Stanislas, the anarchist-poet sent to kill her—an encounter that turns political intrigue into doomed, fatalistic romance.

Poster design
A sumptuous, highly atmospheric Japanese photomontage design with exceptional display presence. The original French title L’Aigle à Deux Têtes sweeps across the top in bold crimson script, while the enormous Japanese title 双頭の鷲 dominates the lower field in dramatic white lettering. The composition is built around the unforgettable central close-up of Jean Marais and Edwige Feuillère in near-embrace, with a courtly inset scene at upper left, a dramatic smaller standing figure of Marais at lower right, and a galloping vignette at lower left. Along the right margin, the vertical copy advertises a tale of intrigue, assassination, and tragic love, while the lower border preserves the original 新外映配給 distributor credit.

Why collectors prize this example
This poster brings together several compelling collecting qualities at once: Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, a major postwar French prestige import, and a first-release Japanese design made specifically for the Japanese market. It also belongs to the important stream of French films handled in Japan by 新外映, a distributor the National Film Archive of Japan credits with bringing many French masterworks to Japanese audiences after the war; the archive now preserves that legacy as the “新外映コレクション.” Because this poster carries the original 1953 Japanese release date, title, and distributor line, it has a clear historical specificity that later paper simply cannot match.

Condition
Very good. Folded as issued, with the expected vertical and horizontal fold lines, light general handling and soft creasing, minor edge wear, and even age-toning visible on the verso. The front still displays beautifully, with rich, saturated colour, strong contrast, and excellent wall presence. Please review the provided photographs—shown is the exact poster offered.

It is over 73 years old.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

A rare opportunity to acquire a first-release Japanese B2 poster for Jean Cocteau’s L’Aigle à deux têtes / 双頭の鷲—a visually arresting, historically specific 1953 import-release piece with striking French/Japanese typography, strong photographic design, and outstanding crossover appeal for collectors of French cinema, classic art-film posters, and vintage Japanese paper.

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