{"product_id":"le-samourai-サムライ-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1968-b3-size-36-51-cm-l140","title":"“Le Samouraï” (サムライ), Original Release Japanese Movie Poster 1968, B3 Size (36 × 51 cm) L140","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"102\" data-end=\"446\"\u003eThis is an original Japanese \u003cstrong data-start=\"131\" data-end=\"144\"\u003eB3 poster\u003c\/strong\u003e printed in \u003cstrong data-start=\"156\" data-end=\"164\"\u003e1968\u003c\/strong\u003e for the \u003cstrong data-start=\"173\" data-end=\"199\"\u003efirst Japanese release\u003c\/strong\u003e of \u003cstrong data-start=\"203\" data-end=\"218\"\u003eLe Samouraï\u003c\/strong\u003e, Jean-Pierre Melville’s austere and immensely influential French crime masterpiece. The film stars \u003cstrong data-start=\"318\" data-end=\"333\"\u003eAlain Delon\u003c\/strong\u003e as \u003cstrong data-start=\"337\" data-end=\"353\"\u003eJef Costello\u003c\/strong\u003e, with \u003cstrong data-start=\"360\" data-end=\"378\"\u003eNathalie Delon\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong data-start=\"380\" data-end=\"399\"\u003eFrançois Périer\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong data-start=\"405\" data-end=\"421\"\u003eCathy Rosier\u003c\/strong\u003e in key supporting roles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"448\" data-end=\"467\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"448\" data-end=\"467\"\u003eFilm background\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"469\" data-end=\"967\"\u003eFew crime films have exerted the lasting influence of \u003cstrong data-start=\"523\" data-end=\"538\"\u003eLe Samouraï\u003c\/strong\u003e. Released in France in 1967 and in Japan the following year, it presents Delon’s Jef Costello as a contract killer of almost ritual precision: solitary, disciplined, and governed by a code that feels at once criminal, existential, and strangely ceremonial. Melville fused \u003cstrong data-start=\"811\" data-end=\"844\"\u003eAmerican gangster iconography\u003c\/strong\u003e with a distinctly \u003cstrong data-start=\"863\" data-end=\"912\"\u003eFrench sense of cool, restraint, and fatalism\u003c\/strong\u003e, creating one of the defining works of postwar cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"969\" data-end=\"1328\"\u003eThe film’s impact on later crime and neo-noir filmmaking has been profound. Its stripped-back style, trench-coat minimalism, urban loneliness, and emphasis on gesture over explanation can be felt across later international cinema. For collectors, it is one of the essential European crime titles, and original Japanese paper for the film is especially prized.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1330\" data-end=\"1347\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1330\" data-end=\"1347\"\u003ePoster design\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1349\" data-end=\"1940\"\u003eThis is a \u003cstrong data-start=\"1359\" data-end=\"1394\"\u003esuperb and highly sophisticated\u003c\/strong\u003e Japanese first-release design. The front is built around a large monochrome portrait of \u003cstrong data-start=\"1483\" data-end=\"1498\"\u003eAlain Delon\u003c\/strong\u003e in fedora and trench coat, occupying the lower left with extraordinary presence. Above him is a smoky interior gun scene, while the right side incorporates additional design elements including a \u003cstrong data-start=\"1694\" data-end=\"1719\"\u003eParis metro-style map\u003c\/strong\u003e, a still of Delon in silhouette, and blocks of Japanese explanatory text. Across the image runs the enormous French title \u003cstrong data-start=\"1842\" data-end=\"1854\"\u003eSAMOURAÏ\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of the most powerful typographic treatments in any Japanese poster for the film.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1942\" data-end=\"2297\"\u003eWhat makes this design especially effective is its balance of \u003cstrong data-start=\"2004\" data-end=\"2024\"\u003egraphic severity\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong data-start=\"2029\" data-end=\"2051\"\u003eeditorial richness\u003c\/strong\u003e. It feels less like a conventional one-sheet and more like a carefully composed visual dossier on the film’s world. The Japanese title in expressive brush lettering adds a local identity without diluting the Parisian cool of the source material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2299\" data-end=\"2603\"\u003eA further point of interest is the \u003cstrong data-start=\"2334\" data-end=\"2359\"\u003efully printed reverse\u003c\/strong\u003e, which contains extensive Japanese text, cast and staff information, and stills. That makes the piece not only a beautiful display poster from the front, but also a fascinating original campaign document from the film’s first Japanese release.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2605\" data-end=\"2709\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2605\" data-end=\"2618\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"2618\" data-end=\"2621\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2621\" data-end=\"2709\"\u003eVery Good \/ Excellent. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2711\" data-end=\"3128\"\u003eThe poster presents very strongly overall, with \u003cstrong data-start=\"2759\" data-end=\"2840\"\u003eexcellent contrast, strong visual impact, and highly attractive front display\u003c\/strong\u003e. It shows the expected fold lines as issued, together with light age-related handling and minor surface and edge wear consistent with authentic vintage Japanese campaign material from this period. The reverse is fully printed and remains clean overall, with normal fold and storage wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3130\" data-end=\"3158\"\u003eIt is \u003cstrong data-start=\"3136\" data-end=\"3157\"\u003eover 58 years old\u003c\/strong\u003e!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3160\" data-end=\"3202\"\u003eIt is \u003cstrong data-start=\"3166\" data-end=\"3201\"\u003enot a reproduction or a reprint\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3204\" data-end=\"3245\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3204\" data-end=\"3245\" data-is-last-node=\"\"\u003eCertificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56886586376570,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/wall-shelf-with-ornaments-2026-05-14T071612.525.jpg?v=1778710612","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/le-samourai-%e3%82%b5%e3%83%a0%e3%83%a9%e3%82%a4-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1968-b3-size-36-51-cm-l140","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}