“Die Hard”, Original Japanese CBS/FOX Video Release Promotional B2 Poster 1989, Rare Bruce Willis / Nakatomi Plaza Action Montage, B2 Poster Size (c.51.5 × 72.8cm) S70

This is an original, very rare Japanese B2 promotional poster printed in 1989 for the Japanese home-video release of John McTiernan’s action landmark Die Hard (ダイ・ハード). Rather than being a standard theatrical poster, this sheet was created specifically for the CBS/FOX VIDEO Japanese VHS campaign, making it a fascinating and considerably more unusual piece of period promotional material. The artwork advertises the 1 September 1989 video release, including the Japanese-dubbed VHS edition priced at ¥15,700. The standard Japanese B2 format measures approximately 51.5 × 72.8 cm (20.3 × 28.7 inches).

Film background
Die Hard stars Bruce Willis as New York police detective John McClane, whose Christmas visit to Los Angeles turns into a one-man battle after a heavily armed group takes over the Nakatomi Corporation skyscraper and holds its occupants hostage. Alan Rickman gives his celebrated screen performance as Hans Gruber, alongside Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson and Alexander Godunov.

Directed by John McTiernan, the film became one of the defining action movies of the late 1980s and established McClane as a very different kind of action hero: battered, vulnerable, sarcastic and frequently improvising simply to stay alive. The Japanese advertising leans enthusiastically into precisely this aspect of the character.

Poster design
Printed for the Japanese home-video market, this B2 design is dramatically different from the comparatively restrained theatrical imagery most closely associated with Die Hard. Instead, it is a gloriously excessive late-1980s Japanese action montage, cramming virtually every major element of the film into a single explosive composition.

A huge image of Bruce Willis as John McClane dominates the right side of the sheet, bruised, sweating and shouting as he grips a submachine gun. Behind him, Nakatomi Plaza erupts in flames, with the orange fireball at the upper left providing a spectacular backdrop to the entire design.

Across the lower half is an elaborate photographic montage featuring Hans Gruber, Karl, Sgt. Al Powell, Holly Gennero-McClane and other principal characters, together with helicopters, police vehicles and burning cars. Unlike the minimalist architectural imagery of many international Die Hard posters, this Japanese campaign sells the movie almost entirely through speed, explosions, weaponry and Bruce Willis himself.

The enormous blue headline across the top reads:

超高層ビル爆破!! テロ集団に挑む凄い奴!!

Approximately: “Skyscraper explosion!! An incredible guy takes on a terrorist group!!”

The equally memorable red copy beside McClane reads:

死んでも死なないタフな奴。それがダイ・ハード！

Approximately: “A tough guy who won’t die even if he dies. That’s Die Hard!”

It is wonderfully direct Japanese advertising copy and perfectly captures the indestructible-but-battered John McClane persona that became central to the series.

Home-video campaign history
The CBS/FOX VIDEO branding at upper right identifies the poster specifically with the Japanese video campaign rather than the film’s original cinema release. The sheet prominently announces 9/1 as the launch date and advertises the Japanese-dubbed video edition at ¥15,700, an evocative reminder of just how expensive premium prerecorded VHS releases could be in late-1980s Japan.

Even more unusually, the left-hand section incorporates an original Die Hard Video Release Special Quiz promotion. Buyers or viewers could enter a mail-in competition to win prizes including a 29-inch Victor colour television, original Die Hard merchandise and one of 1,000 original Die Hard telephone cards. These ephemeral promotional details make this poster an exceptional little time capsule of Japan’s booming late-1980s home-video culture.

The combination of bespoke Japanese artwork, CBS/FOX Video branding, period VHS pricing and the original promotional competition makes this a much more specialised collectible than a conventional theatrical B2.

This poster is in Very Good+/ excellent condition. The central artwork remains extremely strong, colourful and highly displayable, with rich blacks, fiery orange and red tones and vivid blue typography retaining excellent saturation.

There is a noticeable tear with a small amount of paper loss at the upper-left edge, immediately above and beside the opening blue headline typography, together with minor associated edge wear. There are also light handling marks and soft surface / storage waves consistent with an original unbacked promotional poster of this age. Importantly, the primary Bruce Willis imagery, Nakatomi Plaza explosion, title area and supporting montage remain unaffected by any major damage.

The verso is remarkably clean, without the heavy staining, tape residue or extensive foxing often encountered on surviving Japanese video-store promotional posters from this period.

Please refer to the imagery (front, condition detail and verso), as this is the exact poster that is for sale. Despite the localised upper-left edge damage, once framed it will display excellently.

It is nearly 37 years old.

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.