“Duel” / 「激突！」, Original Japanese STB Theatrical Poster, Japanese-Language Version, Steven Spielberg / Dennis Weaver, STB Size (51 × 145 cm) B288

This is a rare original Japanese STB theatrical poster for Duel / 「激突！」, Steven Spielberg’s legendary feature-length thriller starring Dennis Weaver.

This large-format Japanese STB poster is especially desirable because it uses one of the film’s most powerful visual ideas at dramatic scale: a terrified motorist dwarfed by the vast, mechanical menace of a pursuing truck. The format’s tall vertical proportions intensify the sense of speed, danger, and inescapable pressure.

Film background
Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Richard Matheson from his own story, Duel follows an ordinary salesman, David Mann, as a routine desert drive turns into a relentless nightmare. After overtaking a tanker truck, he becomes the target of an unseen driver whose pursuit escalates from intimidation to attempted murder.

Originally produced as a television film, Duel quickly gained an international theatrical reputation and became one of Spielberg’s defining early works. Its premise is brilliantly simple: one man, one car, one truck, and an open road transformed into a place of psychological terror.

The film is now regarded as a crucial early Spielberg work, anticipating many of the director’s later strengths: suspense built from visual rhythm, ordinary life invaded by primal threat, and a monster-like antagonist defined more by movement and presence than by explanation.

Poster design
This Japanese STB poster is a superb piece of suspense advertising. The upper section features an enormous close-up of the truck’s wheel bearing down on Dennis Weaver’s desperate figure, his hands thrown upward in panic. The composition turns the vehicle into a near-abstract force of destruction: metal, rubber, dust, and terror.

At the top left, the English title DUEL appears in bold pink lettering, with “starring DENNIS WEAVER” beneath. Near the top centre, 「日本語版」 identifies this as the Japanese-language version.

Across the middle, the Japanese title 「激突！」 appears in violent red brushstroke typography. The title is perfectly suited to the film: sharp, abrupt, and explosive.

The lower section shows the tanker and car plunging through a cloud of dust and impact, reinforcing the film’s central visual equation: man versus machine, road versus survival, pursuit versus panic.

The STB format
The STB format is one of the most dramatic Japanese poster sizes, measuring approximately 51 × 145 cm. It is far taller than a standard B2 and gives the poster a commanding presence when framed.

For Duel, the format works especially well. The long vertical composition allows the image to unfold almost like a sequence: the looming wheel, the terrified driver, the title impact, and the crash imagery below. It is a highly displayable format for one of cinema’s great road-thrillers.

Condition
Very good to excellent vintage condition. Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.

The poster was previously folded and has subsequently been stored flat. It presents very well overall, with strong colour, bold red title typography, powerful photographic imagery, and excellent display impact.

There are visible original fold lines, light creasing, minor surface handling, and small signs of age consistent with a large-format Japanese theatrical poster of this period. A small lower fold split / tear is visible in the close-up photograph. These condition points are typical for an original STB poster and have been taken into account in the pricing.

Once framed, this poster will display excellently.

This is an original Japanese STB theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is over 45 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.