“CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND – THE SPECIAL EDITION” (1980) – ORIGINAL JAPANESE 2‑SHEET B1 BILLBOARD POSTER Ultra Rare Find | Massive Format | 1980 Special Edition Release | c.103 × 146 cm

This is an original Japanese billboard poster from the 1980 Japanese release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Special Edition (邦題『未知との遭遇 特別編』) — an ultra‑rare find for collectors.

This is an incredibly rare, highly sought‑after collector’s item. This poster is extremely difficult to find even in Japan. We have never seen another in all our time scouring the country from top to bottom.

Printed across two B1 sheets (each c.73 × 103 cm) that combine into a wide c.103 × 146 cm display, this giant billboard was never intended for public sale and would originally have been used only at select theatres. The design features the glowing geometric underside of the alien mothership fading into a blue mist, where silhouetted humans and small extraterrestrials stand face‑to‑face. The Japanese copy at the top teases what Roy Neary finally witnesses inside the mothership, while the lower panel carries the bold title 『未知との遭遇 特別編』 above the English logotype “THE SPECIAL EDITION – CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND”, full credits, the Columbia Pictures logo and 映倫 code.

Released in 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is Steven Spielberg’s landmark science‑fiction drama about ordinary people drawn to a mysterious UFO landing, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr and François Truffaut. It was a critical and commercial triumph, winning multiple major awards and later being selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry. In 1980, Columbia funded a Special Edition that added new scenes and, crucially, a controversial sequence inside the mothership—footage that became the centrepiece of the re‑release marketing worldwide and in Japan.

This billboard is more than a collectible—it’s a scarce surviving artifact of that 1980 Special Edition campaign and a spectacular visual statement, perfect for a home cinema, gallery wall or serious poster collection.

It is over 45 years old!

It is in excellent condition (please refer to the imagery of the exact poster for sale).

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

A Certificate of Authenticity is included.