{"product_id":"le-mans-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1971-stb-size-51x145cm-k249-copy","title":"\"Le Mans\", Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1971, Rare, STB Size (51x145cm) I350","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"326\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"79\"\u003e\"Le Mans\", Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1971, STB Size (51x145cm)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"79\" data-end=\"82\"\u003eJapanese title: \u003cstrong data-start=\"98\" data-end=\"111\"\u003e「栄光のル・マン」\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cem data-start=\"113\" data-end=\"129\"\u003eEikō no Ru Man\u003c\/em\u003e — “The Glory of Le Mans”)\u003cbr data-start=\"155\" data-end=\"158\"\u003eSize: \u003cstrong data-start=\"164\" data-end=\"198\"\u003eSTB \/ 20 × 57 in (51 × 145 cm)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"198\" data-end=\"201\"\u003eCountry \/ Studio: \u003cstrong data-start=\"219\" data-end=\"288\"\u003eJapan \/ Cinema Center Films–Solar Productions (Towa distribution)\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"328\" data-end=\"848\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"328\" data-end=\"356\"\u003eWhy this is a holy grail\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"356\" data-end=\"359\"\u003eSteve McQueen did not merely star in \u003cem data-start=\"396\" data-end=\"405\"\u003eLe Mans\u003c\/em\u003e—he built the film around his obsession with motor racing. Produced through his Solar Productions company and photographed at the Circuit de la Sarthe, it incorporated footage from the real 1970 24 Hours, including material captured by Solar’s three-camera Porsche 908 running in the actual race. The racing sequences were staged and photographed at genuine speed, creating an immediacy that conventional studio filmmaking could not reproduce.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"850\" data-end=\"1231\"\u003eThis original-release Japanese STB is the ultimate graphic expression of McQueen’s most personal film: \u003cstrong data-start=\"953\" data-end=\"1075\"\u003ealmost five feet tall, complete in two sheets, visually radical and considerably scarcer than the standard Japanese B2\u003c\/strong\u003e. For collectors of McQueen, Porsche, endurance racing and international film paper, it is a genuine holy-grail piece. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1233\" data-end=\"1686\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1233\" data-end=\"1254\"\u003eDesign highlights\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"1254\" data-end=\"1257\"\u003eThis is \u003cstrong data-start=\"1265\" data-end=\"1322\"\u003eone of the defining Japanese STB designs of the 1970s\u003c\/strong\u003e. Monumental vermilion characters descend through virtually the entire 145 cm composition, transforming the title itself into a road, a stopwatch and a visual engine. McQueen’s helmeted face occupies the central junction between the two sheets—blue steel, narrowed eyes and white balaclava—while a checkered flag cuts sharply across the surrounding negative space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1688\" data-end=\"2136\"\u003eBelow, a compressed field of racing prototypes charges directly toward the viewer. The running driver, Elga Andersen’s poised figure and the sweeping lines of cars pull the composition outward, giving the entire poster a sense of speed. The black English title, \u003cstrong data-start=\"1950\" data-end=\"1977\"\u003eTHE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS\u003c\/strong\u003e, sits behind the Japanese typography like an international racing banner, while the red-and-blue Cinerama emblem at the foot provides a perfect period finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2138\" data-end=\"2188\"\u003eThe ochre vertical copy at right reads in essence:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2190\" data-end=\"2295\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2190\" data-end=\"2295\"\u003e“Staking all his passion on glory, McQueen takes on a harrowing 24 hours—the ultimate test of a man.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2297\" data-end=\"2499\"\u003eCredits at left identify \u003cstrong data-start=\"2322\" data-end=\"2399\"\u003eDirector: Lee H. Katzin, Producer: Jack N. Reddish, Music: Michel Legrand\u003c\/strong\u003e, with billing for McQueen, Elga Andersen and Siegfried Rauch. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2501\" data-end=\"2868\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2501\" data-end=\"2520\"\u003eCultural impact\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"2520\" data-end=\"2523\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"2523\" data-end=\"2532\"\u003eLe Mans\u003c\/em\u003e rejected the structure of a conventional Hollywood star vehicle. Dialogue is sparse; engines, weather, exhaustion, danger and mechanical rhythm carry much of the drama. Although its original reception was restrained, the film developed into a cult classic, and its full-speed race photography remains a benchmark for motorsport cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2870\" data-end=\"3352\"\u003eMcQueen’s Michael Delaney—Gulf-blue helmet, white racing suit and implacable stare—became one of the defining images of his career. This poster translates that iconography into pure Japanese commercial art: \u003cstrong data-start=\"3077\" data-end=\"3179\"\u003emonumental typography, Pop-era photomontage, disciplined negative space and billboard-scale impact\u003c\/strong\u003e. Among international posters created for \u003cem data-start=\"3221\" data-end=\"3230\"\u003eLe Mans\u003c\/em\u003e, the Japanese verticals rank at the very top, and this STB is the showpiece format. \u003cspan class=\"\" data-state=\"closed\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3354\" data-end=\"3550\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3354\" data-end=\"3367\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"3367\" data-end=\"3370\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3370\" data-end=\"3384\"\u003eVery Good+\u003c\/strong\u003e, unrestored. Both original sheets are complete, the colours remain rich and the central imagery presents extremely well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3552\" data-end=\"4040\"\u003eThere is an isolated but \u003cstrong data-start=\"3563\" data-end=\"3647\"\u003evisible red-ink stain across the right very upper image area of the lower sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e, with corresponding traces visible on the reverse. The staining visually integrates with the poster’s red and ochre collage work and gives this individual example additional character as a \u003cstrong data-start=\"3913\" data-end=\"3982\"\u003egenuine vintage cinema object with an honest 50-plus-year history\u003c\/strong\u003e. Please see the detailed front-and-back imagery provided.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4042\" data-end=\"4125\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4042\" data-end=\"4060\"\u003eAuthentication\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4060\" data-end=\"4063\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4063\" data-end=\"4125\"\u003eGuaranteed original; Certificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4127\" data-end=\"4468\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4127\" data-end=\"4158\"\u003eAbout STB (Tatekan) posters\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4158\" data-end=\"4161\"\u003eSTBs are tall, two-sheet Japanese verticals measuring approximately \u003cstrong data-start=\"4229\" data-end=\"4244\"\u003e51 × 145 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e, effectively formed from two B2-format panels positioned one above the other. They were created for display on \u003cem data-start=\"4356\" data-end=\"4365\"\u003etatekan\u003c\/em\u003e cinema signboards and used as miniature billboards inside theatres and along busy exterior approaches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4470\" data-end=\"4949\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eThey were produced in considerably smaller quantities than regular B2 posters and were vulnerable to folding, pasting, weather exposure and routine disposal once a film’s engagement ended. Complete first-release survivors are consequently rare. For \u003cem data-start=\"4719\" data-end=\"4728\"\u003eLe Mans\u003c\/em\u003e, where the typography and imagery were conceived to flow through the entire two-sheet height, the STB is not simply an enlarged poster—it is \u003cstrong data-start=\"4870\" data-end=\"4910\"\u003ethe definitive version of the design\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57098797482362,"sku":null,"price":2000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/man-standing-in-front-of-gallery-wall_22.jpg?v=1784767350","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/le-mans-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1971-stb-size-51x145cm-k249-copy","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}