{"product_id":"gangster-no-1-ギャングスター-ナンバー1-original-japanese-movie-poster-2001-b2-size-51-73-cm-j280","title":"“Gangster No. 1” \/ 「ギャングスター・ナンバー1」, Original Japanese Movie Poster 2001, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) J280","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"104\" data-end=\"365\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong data-start=\"115\" data-end=\"157\"\u003eoriginal Japanese B2 theatrical poster\u003c\/strong\u003e printed for the 2001 Japanese release of \u003cstrong data-start=\"199\" data-end=\"235\"\u003eGangster No. 1 \/ 「ギャングスター・ナンバー1」\u003c\/strong\u003e, Paul McGuigan’s stylised British crime thriller starring \u003cstrong data-start=\"294\" data-end=\"364\"\u003ePaul Bettany, Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, and Saffron Burrows\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cspan aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"367\" data-end=\"674\"\u003eAdapted from the stage play by Louis Mellis and David Scinto, the film examines ambition, envy, and psychological corruption through the rise of an unnamed London gangster. This stark Japanese campaign poster centres on Paul Bettany’s intense breakthrough performance as the character’s younger incarnation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"676\" data-end=\"695\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"676\" data-end=\"695\"\u003eFilm background\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"697\" data-end=\"864\"\u003eIn 1999, an ageing London crime boss learns that his former mentor and rival, \u003cstrong data-start=\"775\" data-end=\"791\"\u003eFreddie Mays\u003c\/strong\u003e, is being released from prison after serving approximately thirty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"866\" data-end=\"1018\"\u003eThe news forces him to recall his youth in 1960s London, when he was an anonymous but fiercely ambitious criminal working within Freddie’s organisation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1020\" data-end=\"1286\"\u003eFreddie is elegant, wealthy, and respected—the embodiment of everything the younger man wants to become. Admiration gradually turns into obsessive envy, however, as the young gangster becomes determined not merely to equal his superior but to replace him completely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1288\" data-end=\"1568\"\u003eWhen rival criminal Lennie Taylor moves against Freddie, the gangster sees an opportunity to engineer his mentor’s downfall. His calculated betrayal begins a brutal ascent through London’s underworld, built upon violence, manipulation, and the destruction of those closest to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1570\" data-end=\"1822\"\u003eThe film contrasts the young gangster’s apparent success with the emotionally barren man he eventually becomes. Material wealth and criminal authority cannot conceal the fact that his identity has been shaped entirely by resentment towards another man.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1824\" data-end=\"1971\"\u003eThe film was directed by \u003cstrong data-start=\"1849\" data-end=\"1866\"\u003ePaul McGuigan\u003c\/strong\u003e, from a screenplay by \u003cstrong data-start=\"1889\" data-end=\"1908\"\u003eJohnny Ferguson\u003c\/strong\u003e, based on the stage play by \u003cstrong data-start=\"1937\" data-end=\"1970\"\u003eLouis Mellis and David Scinto\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1973\" data-end=\"2001\"\u003eThe principal cast includes:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2207\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2207\"\u003ePaul Bettany as the young Gangster\u003cbr data-start=\"2039\" data-end=\"2042\"\u003eMalcolm McDowell as the older Gangster\u003cbr data-start=\"2080\" data-end=\"2083\"\u003eDavid Thewlis as Freddie Mays\u003cbr data-start=\"2112\" data-end=\"2115\"\u003eSaffron Burrows as Karen\u003cbr data-start=\"2139\" data-end=\"2142\"\u003eKenneth Cranham as Lennie Taylor\u003cbr data-start=\"2174\" data-end=\"2177\"\u003eEddie Marsan as Eddie Miller\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2209\" data-end=\"2431\"\u003ePaul Bettany’s ferocious and controlled performance became one of the film’s defining elements, helping establish him internationally before his appearances in films including \u003cem data-start=\"2385\" data-end=\"2403\"\u003eA Beautiful Mind\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2430\"\u003eMaster and Commander\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2433\" data-end=\"2450\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2433\" data-end=\"2450\"\u003ePoster design\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2452\" data-end=\"2575\"\u003eThis exceptional Japanese poster uses an extremely restrained combination of \u003cstrong data-start=\"2529\" data-end=\"2574\"\u003eblack, white, scarlet red, and muted blue\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2577\" data-end=\"2834\"\u003eAn enormous close-up portrait of \u003cstrong data-start=\"2610\" data-end=\"2648\"\u003ePaul Bettany as the young Gangster\u003c\/strong\u003e fills almost the entire composition. His face is divided sharply between darkness and light: the left side disappears into solid black, while the right is rendered in grainy monochrome.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2836\" data-end=\"3044\"\u003eOnly one eye is fully visible, staring directly towards the viewer with a cold and calculating intensity. The asymmetrical lighting suggests a personality split between outward control and concealed violence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3046\" data-end=\"3306\"\u003eA vivid red field occupies the upper-right background, creating a severe contrast with the black-and-white portrait. This limited palette gives the design the appearance of a neo-noir crime novel, political poster, or aggressively modern fashion advertisement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3308\" data-end=\"3355\"\u003eThe vertical blue tagline at upper right reads:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3357\" data-end=\"3378\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3357\" data-end=\"3378\"\u003e「超えなければならない男がいる。」\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3380\" data-end=\"3391\"\u003eTranslated:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3393\" data-end=\"3429\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3393\" data-end=\"3429\"\u003e“There is a man I must surpass.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3431\" data-end=\"3670\"\u003eThis concise line expresses the young gangster’s central obsession with Freddie Mays. His ambition is not driven simply by wealth or status, but by the need to defeat and replace the man whose confidence, elegance, and authority he envies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3672\" data-end=\"3699\"\u003eThe enormous English title:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3701\" data-end=\"3726\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3701\" data-end=\"3726\"\u003e“GANGSTER\u003cbr data-start=\"3712\" data-end=\"3715\"\u003eNUMBER 1”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3728\" data-end=\"3791\"\u003eappears across the lower half in bold red sans-serif lettering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3793\" data-end=\"4023\"\u003eThe title partially overlaps Bettany’s suit and tie, integrating the typography directly into his portrait. Its uncompromising scale presents the character’s desired identity as a declaration rather than a conventional film title.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4025\" data-end=\"4044\"\u003eThe Japanese title:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4046\" data-end=\"4065\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4046\" data-end=\"4065\"\u003e「ギャングスター・ナンバー1」\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4067\" data-end=\"4104\"\u003eappears in blue along the lower edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4106\" data-end=\"4193\"\u003eThe billing highlights the principal actors and their internationally recognised films:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4195\" data-end=\"4278\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4195\" data-end=\"4232\"\u003ePaul Bettany — \u003cem data-start=\"4212\" data-end=\"4230\"\u003eA Beautiful Mind\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4232\" data-end=\"4235\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4235\" data-end=\"4278\"\u003eMalcolm McDowell — \u003cem data-start=\"4256\" data-end=\"4276\"\u003eA Clockwork Orange\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4280\" data-end=\"4426\"\u003eThe detailed production credits also identify \u003cstrong data-start=\"4326\" data-end=\"4375\"\u003eDavid Thewlis, Saffron Burrows, Paul McGuigan\u003c\/strong\u003e, and Japanese distributor \u003cstrong data-start=\"4402\" data-end=\"4425\"\u003eGAGA Communications\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4428\" data-end=\"4613\"\u003eThe result is a particularly effective Japanese crime-film design, reducing the narrative to its psychological essence: one face, one visible eye, one rival, and one consuming ambition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4615\" data-end=\"4628\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4615\" data-end=\"4628\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4630\" data-end=\"4803\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4630\" data-end=\"4654\"\u003eExcellent condition.\u003c\/strong\u003e A highly attractive and well-preserved example retaining deep black areas, vivid red colour, sharp monochrome portrait detail, and clean typography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4805\" data-end=\"4961\"\u003eThere are only light signs of age and handling consistent with an original Japanese theatrical poster from this period. Overall, it presents extremely well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4963\" data-end=\"4983\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4963\" data-end=\"4983\"\u003eReference: J280.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4985\" data-end=\"5063\"\u003ePlease review the photograph carefully, as it shows the exact poster for sale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5065\" data-end=\"5194\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong data-start=\"5076\" data-end=\"5162\"\u003eoriginal Japanese theatrical poster from the film’s 2001 Japanese release campaign\u003c\/strong\u003e, not a reproduction or reprint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5196\" data-end=\"5237\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5196\" data-end=\"5237\"\u003eIt is now approximately 25 years old.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5239\" data-end=\"5280\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5239\" data-end=\"5280\" data-is-last-node=\"\"\u003eCertificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57101412172154,"sku":null,"price":150.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/wall-shelf-with-ornaments-2026-07-24T080206.546.jpg?v=1784848415","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/gangster-no-1-%e3%82%ae%e3%83%a3%e3%83%b3%e3%82%b0%e3%82%b9%e3%82%bf%e3%83%bc-%e3%83%8a%e3%83%b3%e3%83%90%e3%83%bc1-original-japanese-movie-poster-2001-b2-size-51-73-cm-j280","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}