{"product_id":"back-to-the-future-バック-トゥ-ザ-フューチャー-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1985-b2-size-51-73-cm-s261-copy","title":"“Six-String Samurai” (シックス・ストリング・サムライ), Very Rare Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1999, Atsushi Kaneko Artwork, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) S262","description":"\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese B2 theatrical poster\u003c\/strong\u003e produced for the \u003cstrong\u003efirst Japanese release of Lance Mungia’s cult film\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSix-String Samurai\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cstrong\u003eシックス・ストリング・サムライ\u003c\/strong\u003e) in \u003cstrong\u003e1999\u003c\/strong\u003e, starring \u003cstrong\u003eJeffrey Falcon\u003c\/strong\u003e as Buddy and \u003cstrong\u003eJustin McGuire\u003c\/strong\u003e as The Kid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eProduced in the United States in \u003cstrong\u003e1998\u003c\/strong\u003e, the film received its Japanese theatrical release on \u003cstrong\u003e26 March 1999\u003c\/strong\u003e, distributed by \u003cstrong\u003ePony Canyon\u003c\/strong\u003e. Jeffrey Falcon also co-wrote the screenplay and served as the film’s action director, while the soundtrack prominently features \u003cstrong\u003eThe Red Elvises\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis exceptionally distinctive Japanese campaign artwork was created by acclaimed manga artist and illustrator \u003cstrong\u003eAtsushi Kaneko (カネコアツシ)\u003c\/strong\u003e. Japanese contemporary material confirms Kaneko as one of the artists commissioned to create original illustrations for the Japanese release, and this particular design is specifically identified as his work. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFilm background\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eSix-String Samurai\u003c\/em\u003e is one of the most eccentric American independent films of the late 1990s—a delirious combination of \u003cstrong\u003epost-apocalyptic science fiction, samurai cinema, kung-fu action, rockabilly, Western imagery and road movie\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIts alternate history begins in \u003cstrong\u003e1957\u003c\/strong\u003e, when the Soviet Union launches a nuclear attack on the United States. Decades later, much of America has become a wasteland and the last great refuge of freedom is \u003cstrong\u003eLost Vegas\u003c\/strong\u003e, ruled for forty years by the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, Elvis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eWhen the King dies, musicians and warriors from across the wasteland begin travelling toward Lost Vegas, each hoping to claim the throne.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAmong them is \u003cstrong\u003eBuddy\u003c\/strong\u003e, played by Jeffrey Falcon: a horn-rimmed-glasses-wearing guitarist and swordsman whose appearance deliberately evokes \u003cstrong\u003eBuddy Holly\u003c\/strong\u003e, but whose fighting ability belongs to the world of martial-arts cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eDuring his journey he reluctantly becomes responsible for an orphaned child, \u003cstrong\u003eThe Kid\u003c\/strong\u003e, and the pair encounter an increasingly surreal collection of assassins, rival musicians, Soviet forces and wasteland gangs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eMeanwhile, the sinister guitarist \u003cstrong\u003eDeath\u003c\/strong\u003e, played by Stephane Gauger, is also making his way toward Lost Vegas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe result is a film that gleefully collapses genre boundaries. A contemporary profile described it as a post-apocalyptic \u003cstrong\u003esamurai-Western-kung-fu-rock ’n’ roll road movie\u003c\/strong\u003e, which remains a remarkably accurate summary. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAtsushi Kaneko artwork\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe Japanese poster abandons the conventional photographic campaign almost entirely in favour of a \u003cstrong\u003ewildly expressive original illustration by Atsushi Kaneko\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eKaneko’s drawing transforms the film into something resembling a collision between an underground comic, punk-rock gig poster and exploitation-movie one-sheet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe background is an almost violently saturated \u003cstrong\u003eblood-red field\u003c\/strong\u003e, against which every element appears to erupt toward the viewer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAt the centre is \u003cstrong\u003eBuddy\u003c\/strong\u003e, rendered as a screaming, bespectacled rockabilly warrior in black tuxedo and bow tie.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eHis expression is deliberately exaggerated—eyes wide, mouth open, teeth bared—as he grips a huge samurai sword diagonally across the composition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe image immediately communicates the film’s fundamental joke:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ea rock ’n’ roll guitarist who behaves like a wandering samurai.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Kid\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eBehind Buddy is a huge yellow portrait of \u003cstrong\u003eThe Kid\u003c\/strong\u003e, similarly distorted into an expression of panic or amazement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eRather than rendering the characters with conventional realism, Kaneko amplifies their features into almost grotesque comic-book caricatures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThat visual language is perfectly suited to the film, which constantly shifts between sincerity, absurdity and highly stylised genre parody.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDeath\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAt upper right looms the film’s principal adversary, \u003cstrong\u003eDeath\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eHis skull-like face emerges beneath an enormous black top hat, surrounded by curling \u003cstrong\u003epink flames\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe imagery turns the character into something closer to a heavy-metal album mascot than a conventional film villain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eDeath’s position above Buddy also gives the composition a strong vertical hierarchy: Buddy and The Kid dominate the human foreground, while the supernatural threat of Death hangs above them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRock ’n’ roll and communism\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eOne of the poster’s most inspired details appears near the top centre.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eA large \u003cstrong\u003eguitar neck\u003c\/strong\u003e rises upward through the image, intersected by a bright yellow \u003cstrong\u003ehammer-and-sickle motif\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis single visual gag neatly condenses the film’s entire alternate-history mythology: \u003cstrong\u003eSoviet occupation colliding with American rock ’n’ roll culture\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe poster does not attempt to explain the joke. Instead, Kaneko simply throws the symbols together with the same manic confidence as the film itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe wasteland\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAcross the lower half, the illustration becomes even denser.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eA group of bald, uniformed figures carrying bags marches toward the foreground, while armed silhouettes and Soviet imagery appear behind them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eAt lower right, Buddy’s battered automobile charges forward through a spectacular mass of \u003cstrong\u003eyellow smoke, debris and mechanical wreckage\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe entire composition is surrounded by hot-pink flames, creating the feeling that the characters are moving through a world permanently on the verge of combustion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eRather than separating individual narrative episodes, the poster compresses \u003cstrong\u003ethe entire mythology of the film into one explosive graphic field\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTypography\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe title:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSIX-STRING SAMURAI\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003edominates the upper-left corner in huge, irregular pink lettering edged in black.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe letters have a deliberately hand-drawn, almost horror-comic quality, with drips and distortions that make the typography feel physically integrated into Kaneko’s illustration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThere is almost no conventional studio polish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eInstead, the design embraces the roughness and visual excess associated with \u003cstrong\u003ealternative comics, punk graphics and cult exploitation cinema\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe lower yellow border carries the Japanese title:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e「シックス・ストリング・サムライ」\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003ealong with the principal production information.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIt identifies \u003cstrong\u003eLance Mungia’s feature directorial debut\u003c\/strong\u003e, Jeffrey Falcon’s roles in the screenplay, starring performance and action direction, and music by \u003cstrong\u003eThe Red Elvises\u003c\/strong\u003e. It also records the film as a \u003cstrong\u003e1998 American production, 35mm, colour, Vista format, 91 minutes\u003c\/strong\u003e, with Japanese distribution by \u003cstrong\u003ePony Canyon\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJapanese cult-film campaign\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThe Japanese release of \u003cem\u003eSix-String Samurai\u003c\/em\u003e received an unusually creative illustrated campaign.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eRather than simply reproducing American studio artwork, the Japanese promotion commissioned distinctive imagery from artists including \u003cstrong\u003eAtsushi Kaneko, Kotobuki Shiriagari and Hideyasu Moto\u003c\/strong\u003e, giving the release a visual identity rooted directly in Japan’s alternative illustration and manga culture. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis Kaneko B2 is arguably the most immediately aggressive of those approaches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIt does not attempt to make the film look respectable or conventional.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eInstead, it celebrates precisely what makes \u003cem\u003eSix-String Samurai\u003c\/em\u003e unusual: \u003cstrong\u003esamurai swords, Buddy Holly styling, Soviet iconography, rockabilly, post-apocalyptic violence and underground-comic absurdity\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eFor collectors of Japanese alternative graphic design as well as cult cinema, that makes the poster considerably more interesting than a straightforward adaptation of the international campaign.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExcellent+ original condition overall.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003ePlease review all photographs carefully; they show the \u003cstrong\u003eexact poster for sale, front and reverse\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese B2 theatrical poster from the film’s 1999 first-release campaign\u003c\/strong\u003e, featuring \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese artwork by Atsushi Kaneko\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIt is \u003cstrong\u003enot a reproduction or modern reprint\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003eIt is approximately \u003cstrong\u003e27 years old\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCode: S262\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57283651928442,"sku":null,"price":285.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/wall-shelf-with-ornaments_41_7b4d7126-ec99-43e7-9b75-c2c1a33153af.jpg?v=1789765010","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/back-to-the-future-%e3%83%90%e3%83%83%e3%82%af-%e3%83%88%e3%82%a5-%e3%82%b6-%e3%83%95%e3%83%a5%e3%83%bc%e3%83%81%e3%83%a3%e3%83%bc-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1985-b2-size-51-73-cm-s261-copy","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}