“Monty Python: And Now for Something Completely Different” / 「モンティ・パイソン アンド ナウ」, Original Japanese Movie Poster 1980, Japanese Dubbed Version, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) K351
Sale price$150.00
This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the film’s first Japanese release in 1980.
Directed by Ian MacNaughton, And Now for Something Completely Different was Monty Python’s first feature-length film, reworking many of the troupe’s best-known early television sketches for cinema audiences.
This Japanese poster is particularly collectible because it promotes the celebrated Japanese-dubbed version / 「日本語版」, featuring an exceptional group of Japanese voice actors whose performances played an important role in establishing Monty Python’s cult following in Japan.
Film background
Rather than following a continuous narrative, the film presents newly filmed versions of sketches originally created for the first two series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
The programme moves rapidly between surreal situations, absurd social encounters, visual non sequiturs, and Terry Gilliam’s distinctive cut-out animation.
Featured routines include:
The Dead Parrot The Lumberjack Song Nudge Nudge Hell’s Grannies The Upper-Class Twit of the Year The Dirty Fork The Self-Defence Against Fresh Fruit sketch
The film was conceived partly as an introduction to Monty Python for international audiences unfamiliar with the original BBC television series.
The Monty Python troupe consisted of:
Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin
Although Terry Gilliam’s animation is essential to the film, this particular Japanese poster’s billing block promotes only the five principal on-screen British performers.
Japanese dubbed version
The poster explicitly identifies the release as:
「日本語版」
Translated:
“Japanese-language version.”
The Japanese campaign paired the principal performers with a remarkable voice cast:
John Cleese — Gorō Naya / 納谷悟朗 Graham Chapman — Yasuo Yamada / 山田康雄 Eric Idle — Taichirō Hirokawa / 広川太一郎 Michael Palin — Takeshi Aono / 青野武 Terry Jones — Shōzō Iizuka / 飯塚昭三
Several of these actors were among Japan’s most recognisable dubbing talents, with voices closely associated with major Western stars, anime characters, and popular television productions.
Their comic timing and inventive localisation helped give Monty Python a distinctive second life in Japan rather than treating the dialogue as a purely literal translation.
Poster design
This lively Japanese campaign poster uses a theatrical black background, bold colour photography, and an enormous torn-paper title banner.
At upper right, John Cleese and Michael Palin appear in formal evening dress before a red theatre curtain. Their exaggerated expressions and gestures immediately establish the film’s mixture of performance, parody, and cultivated absurdity.
Across the lower section, another photographic image depicts a couple locked in an amorous embrace, adding to the poster’s deliberately chaotic and irreverent arrangement.
The enormous red banner cutting diagonally across the centre reads:
“MONTY PYTHON’S”
followed by the Japanese title:
「モンティ・パイソン アンド ナウ」
and the original English title:
“AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT”
The yellow box at right reads:
「日本語版」
Translated:
“Japanese dubbed version.”
The large white headline at upper left reads:
「痛快スーパーナンセンスムービー いざ登場！」
Translated:
“The exhilarating super-nonsense movie has arrived!”
The accompanying copy reads:
「隠しても隠しても、 こぼれる知性はブリティッシュ。 大天才5人組の笑殺傑作パロディー。」
Translated:
“No matter how they try to conceal it, their overflowing intelligence is unmistakably British—a killer comedy parody by five comic geniuses.”
The reference to a five-man group reflects the way the early Japanese campaign presented the troupe’s visible performers, omitting Terry Gilliam from the main cast listing despite his crucial role as animator and Python member.
At lower left, the heading:
「爆笑ギャグ・メーカー」
may be translated as:
“Creators of explosively funny comedy.”
The production and dubbing credits appear beneath, while the lower edge identifies:
Telecas Japan as presenter and International Promotion as distributor.
The result is a highly distinctive Japanese Monty Python design, combining theatrical photography, deliberately oversized typography, and the culturally significant promotion of the Japanese voice cast.
Rarity and significance
Original Japanese Monty Python posters appear far less frequently than equivalent posters for mainstream Hollywood releases.
This example is especially desirable because it dates from the film’s first Japanese theatrical campaign, prominently advertises the Japanese dubbed version, and documents the voice cast that helped establish the troupe’s enduring Japanese cult audience.
Condition
Excellent condition. A highly attractive and well-preserved example retaining deep black areas, vivid red and yellow colour, clear photographic detail, crisp typography, and excellent overall display impact.
There are only light signs of age and handling consistent with an original Japanese theatrical poster from this period.
Reference: K351.
Please review the photograph carefully, as it shows the exact poster for sale.
This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster from the film’s first 1980 Japanese release campaign, not a reproduction or reprint.
