“Loose Cannons” (キャノンズ), Original First Release Japanese Movie Poster 1990, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) ZA708

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed in 1990 for the first Japanese release of Loose Cannons (キャノンズ), the offbeat American action-comedy buddy-cop film directed by Bob Clark and starring Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd.

An energetic and highly graphic poster from the late-era boom in imported Hollywood action-comedies in Japan, this example is especially appealing for its bold yellow background, comic-book styling, and unusually playful Japanese promotional text. It captures the film’s deliberately mismatched pairing and broad comic tone with considerable flair, and is an excellent display piece for collectors of 1990s cinema, Gene Hackman, Dan Aykroyd, and Japanese release poster design.

Film background
Released in 1990, Loose Cannons follows veteran Washington, D.C. detective Mac Stern and his new partner Ellis Fielding, a gifted but psychologically unstable investigator whose dissociative episodes cause him to slip unpredictably into various pop-cultural personas. As the pair pursue a dangerous conspiracy with Nazi-related overtones, the film plays its central premise for both action and absurdist comedy, setting hard-boiled police work against Fielding’s wildly erratic behaviour.

Directed by Bob Clark, the film belongs to a distinctive late-1980s / early-1990s cycle of American buddy-cop pictures, though it pushes the formula in a more eccentric, comic direction than most of its contemporaries. While its critical reception at the time was mixed, the film has since found a modest cult audience, particularly among viewers drawn to unusual studio comedies and the curious chemistry between Hackman’s gruff authority and Aykroyd’s manic unpredictability.

Poster design
The poster is immediate, loud, and unmistakably commercial in the best sense. The entire composition is set against a flat, vivid yellow field, giving the sheet strong visual punch from a distance. At centre, Gene Hackman and Dan Aykroyd stand back-to-back in a classic buddy-cop pose, visually underscoring the “odd couple” premise.

Hackman appears at left in a red satin jacket, holding a submachine gun with a look of wary scepticism, while Aykroyd stands at right in a pale jacket and bow tie, awkwardly handling a pistol with comic unease. The design cleverly emphasises their contrast: above Hackman float a series of question marks, while above Aykroyd are cartoonish stars, reinforcing the idea of confusion, instability, and comic dislocation.

Running vertically between them is the striking line:

「俺たち、ぜーんぜんミスマッチ!?」
(“We’re a total mismatch!?”)

Two burst graphics further dramatise the contrast. The red burst at left promotes Hackman’s character as a hard-boiled, tough cop, while the black burst at right describes Aykroyd’s character as a multi-personality, shape-shifting detective, referencing transformations into figures such as Mr. Spock, the Road Runner, and Popeye.

At the bottom, the title is set within a large pink comic-book explosion motif, with the Japanese title 「キャノンズ」 rendered in bold red and blue lettering. The result is a design that feels closer to a manga or pop-art advertising piece than to a conventional police thriller poster—precisely the sort of inventive localisation that makes Japanese posters of imported films so compelling.

Condition
Excellent condition. A highly attractive example with strong colour, clean paper, and excellent display presence. The bright yellow field and crisp typography make condition especially important on this design, and this copy presents very well.

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

This is an original 1990 Japanese theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

It is now over 30 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.