“The Klansman” (クランスマン), Original Japanese Movie Poster 1977, Artwork by SEITO, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) — T108

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster for the 1977 first Japanese release of The Klansman, featuring painted artwork by SEITO. Originally produced in 1974, the film opened in Japan on 5 February 1977, distributed by Toho-Towa.

SEITO is particularly familiar to collectors through his Japanese poster illustrations for Star Wars, released in Japan in 1978, and Conan the Barbarian. Here, his combination of detailed portraiture, dramatic lighting and densely arranged action creates an exceptionally forceful composition. The SEITO signature appears within the lower montage, just above the English title.

Directed by Terence Young, with a screenplay credited to Millard Kaufman and Samuel Fuller, the film adapts William Bradford Huie’s novel about racial violence in Alabama. Lee Marvin plays a sheriff confronting escalating unrest, while Richard Burton portrays a landowner opposed to the Ku Klux Klan. O.J. Simpson, Lola Falana, Cameron Mitchell and Linda Evans also appear. Its disturbing subject matter is reflected directly in the Japanese campaign’s imagery.

The upper half is saturated with fiery orange and red, surrounding an enormous hooded figure aiming a handgun. A burning cross and smaller torch-bearing figures establish the atmosphere of intimidation, looming above the central portraits.

Marvin dominates the left foreground, gripping a long gun with an American flag depicted on its stock. Beside him, Burton raises a clenched fist and an open hand, his face rendered with pronounced shadows and expressive brushwork. The contrast between their carefully modelled features and the turbulent background gives the painting much of its intensity.

Below, a gunman peers between wooden posts, a police car surges forward through an explosion, and smaller figures struggle across the foreground. The artwork fades into a pale lower field, where the enormous, angular red title 「クランスマン」 stretches across the sheet.

The Japanese headline reads:

「現代アメリカの栄光と威信を裂く 巨大な〈秘密結社KKK団〉の恐怖！」
“The terror of the powerful ‘secret society KKK’, tearing apart the glory and prestige of modern America!”

A distinctive example of SEITO’s Japanese film poster artwork, combining recognisable star portraits with an unusually intense colour palette.

Condition: Very Good+ to Excellent.

Minor edge wear is visible, particularly along the left margin, as shown in the close-up photograph. The central artwork retains strong colour and displays well.

Please review all photographs, including the front, reverse and detail image, as they show the exact poster for sale.

Japanese B2 format: approximately 51 × 73 cm.
Stock code: T108.

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.

About Japanese B2 posters
Japanese B2 posters typically measure approximately 51 × 73 cm and were produced for theatrical display. Their distinctive combinations of photography, illustration, typography and locally written promotional copy offer a fascinating record of how films were presented to Japanese audiences.