“Heaven’s Gate” / 「天国の門」, Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1981, Michael Cimino, Complete Version / 「完全版」, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) D288

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster for Heaven’s Gate / 「天国の門」, printed for the film’s 1981 Japanese theatrical release.

Directed by Michael Cimino, Heaven’s Gate remains one of the most ambitious, controversial, and visually extraordinary American films of the late 20th century. This Japanese poster is especially desirable because it promotes the film as the 「完全版」 / Complete Version, with striking Japanese release copy announcing the long-awaited presentation of the full version of a film that had already become one of the most discussed productions in American cinema history.

Film background
Directed by Michael Cimino after his Academy Award-winning success with The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate is a vast American epic Western centred on class conflict, immigration, violence, and power in late-19th-century Wyoming.

The film stars Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, Isabelle Huppert, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, Brad Dourif, and Jeff Bridges. Its enormous scale, elaborate period reconstruction, and troubled production made it infamous at the time of release, severely damaging Cimino’s career and contributing to the collapse of United Artists as an independent studio force.

In later decades, however, Heaven’s Gate has undergone a major critical reappraisal. The restored longer versions have led many critics and film historians to reassess it as a visually magnificent, misunderstood work — a poetic, mournful epic about America, myth, capital, violence, and the end of the frontier.

Poster design
This Japanese B2 poster has a warm, romantic, and painterly design, dominated by sepia, gold, cream, and soft amber tones.

The upper half features two enormous, softly rendered portraits: a bearded man leaning down toward a woman whose eyes are closed, creating a dreamlike, intimate image of desire, memory, and tragedy. Beneath them stands a smaller full-body figure in a white suit and fedora, framed by large five-pointed stars.

The title 「天国の門」 appears in bold black Japanese calligraphy across the lower centre, with 「マイケル・チミノ監督」 printed above and a green 「完全版」 box to the right. The poster’s top copy reads:

「アメリカ映画史を揺り動かした問題作の《完全版》遂に公開！」
“The complete version of the controversial work that shook American film history is finally released!”

At the bottom, a panoramic Western landscape stretches across the sheet: riders, wagons, mountains, and a steam train create a sweeping sense of 19th-century American scale. This lower frieze beautifully balances the romantic upper imagery with the historical epic world of the film.

The overall design is elegant, atmospheric, and unusually sophisticated — closer to a prestige literary or historical epic poster than a conventional Western action sheet.

Release identification
This poster should be catalogued as the 1981 Japanese theatrical release B2 poster for Heaven’s Gate, promoting the film as the Complete Version / 「完全版」.

The Japanese campaign foregrounded the film’s notoriety and scale, presenting it as a major cinematic event by the Academy Award-winning director of The Deer Hunter.

Condition
Excellent condition. Please review the photograph carefully, as it shows the exact poster for sale.

The poster presents beautifully, with warm colour, soft painted imagery, clean Japanese title typography, and excellent overall display impact. Only light signs of age, storage, or handling are visible, consistent with careful preservation of an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster from the early 1980s.

This is an original 1981 Japanese theatrical B2 poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is over 40 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.