{"product_id":"safari-5000-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1969-b0-size-100-0-x-141-4-cm-very-rare-copy","title":"“Safari 5000 \/ 5,000 Kilometers to Glory” (栄光への5000キロ), Original Japanese First-Release Movie Poster 1969, B2 Size (c. 51.5 × 72.8 cm) S257","description":"\u003cp class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese B2 theatrical poster produced for the first release of\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSafari 5000 \/ 5,000 Kilometers to Glory\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cstrong\u003e栄光への5000キロ\u003c\/strong\u003e) in \u003cstrong\u003e1969\u003c\/strong\u003e, directed by \u003cstrong\u003eKoreyoshi Kurahara (蔵原惟繕)\u003c\/strong\u003e and starring \u003cstrong\u003eYūjirō Ishihara\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eRuriko Asaoka\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eToshirō Mifune\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eTatsuya Nakadai\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eJūzō Itami\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eEmmanuelle Riva\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eJean-Claude Drouot\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unusually ambitious Japanese racing epic, the film follows professional driver \u003cstrong\u003eGodai\u003c\/strong\u003e through European competition and ultimately into the punishing \u003cstrong\u003eEast African Safari Rally\u003c\/strong\u003e, combining motorsport spectacle with romance, rivalry and the psychological toll of racing at the limit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProduced on an unusually international scale, the film was shot extensively outside Japan and made with the cooperation of \u003cstrong\u003eNissan Motor Co.\u003c\/strong\u003e, whose involvement is credited directly on the poster. It remains one of the great Japanese motor-racing films of the late 1960s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFilm background\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe story begins with Godai already established as an international racing driver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a serious accident during European rally competition, his career and personal life begin to fracture. Racing has become both his greatest obsession and the force threatening everything around him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis path eventually leads towards the \u003cstrong\u003eEast African Safari Rally\u003c\/strong\u003e, one of the most demanding endurance events in world motorsport.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRather than treating racing purely as spectacle, \u003cem\u003eSafari 5000\u003c\/em\u003e places its characters against an almost overwhelming physical environment: vast distances, heat, dust, mechanical failure and exhaustion become as important as the competitors themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe international cast reinforces that scale. Alongside Ishihara and Asaoka are major Japanese stars \u003cstrong\u003eToshirō Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai\u003c\/strong\u003e, together with European performers including \u003cstrong\u003eEmmanuelle Riva and Jean-Claude Drouot\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDesign\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a superb example of \u003cstrong\u003elate-1960s Japanese large-scale adventure advertising\u003c\/strong\u003e, built around an extraordinary close-up of Ishihara’s racing helmet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe upper half is dominated by the helmet of \u003cstrong\u003eGodai\u003c\/strong\u003e, his name rendered simply as:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eT. GODAI\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eacross the white shell.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe enormous helmet, goggles and roll bar immediately establish the film’s racing identity, but the composition has an almost futuristic quality. The white helmet floats against an intensely saturated \u003cstrong\u003eturquoise-blue sky\u003c\/strong\u003e, crossed by dark copper clouds and framed by the black geometry of the car.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe red scarf tied around Godai’s neck provides another vivid accent and leads the eye downward into the second half of the design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe African landscape\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lower field opens dramatically into a vast \u003cstrong\u003eorange and gold sunset\u003c\/strong\u003e, against which a rally car races across the African terrain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis change in scale is particularly effective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the top, the viewer is almost inside the cockpit with the driver; below, the car becomes tiny against the landscape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe design therefore visualises one of the film’s central ideas: however skilled or determined the driver may be, the Safari Rally ultimately places the individual against an environment of almost incomprehensible scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcross the lower-right horizon appears a remarkable line-up of the film’s principal cast, their faces arranged almost like witnesses to the approaching race.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe transition from helmet, to landscape, to portraits gives the poster an unusually cinematic sense of movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJapanese campaign copy\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRunning vertically down the upper-left edge is the dramatic red campaign line:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e「炎熱のサファリ原野を爆走――\u003cbr\u003e愛を捨て 死と対決する若きレーサー！」\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Racing at full speed across the scorching Safari wilderness —\u003cbr\u003ea young driver abandons love and confronts death!”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeside it, yellow typography announces the production’s exceptional scale:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e「ヨーロッパ、アフリカ長期ロケ、6大スターが展開する激情のドラマ！」\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Extensive location filming in Europe and Africa — a passionate drama unfolded by six major stars!”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe copy is pure late-1960s Japanese roadshow language: \u003cstrong\u003espeed, danger, international scale and emotional extremity\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTitle design\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcross the bottom, the Japanese title:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e栄光への5000粁\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eis rendered in enormous white lettering against black, with the English:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSAFARI 5000\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003epicked out in blue at the lower right.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe old character \u003cstrong\u003e粁\u003c\/strong\u003e is an especially attractive period detail, historically used in Japanese typography to represent “kilometre.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe huge \u003cstrong\u003e5000\u003c\/strong\u003e numerals dominate the lower third of the sheet, giving the title almost the same visual force as the racing imagery itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe composition is therefore built from three extremely strong graphic elements:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ethe monumental racing helmet, the African sunset and the enormous “5000” title.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInternational production\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe poster itself emphasises the film’s extensive \u003cstrong\u003eEuropean and African location work\u003c\/strong\u003e, a major undertaking for a Japanese production of the period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"\"\u003eThe film was adapted from \u003cstrong\u003eGōzō Kasahara’s account of the East African Safari Rally\u003c\/strong\u003e, with \u003cstrong\u003eNobuo Yamada\u003c\/strong\u003e writing the screenplay and Kurahara directing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKurahara was one of the most visually assured Japanese filmmakers of his generation, and the film’s scale allowed him to combine intimate character drama with vast racing landscapes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe production’s involvement with \u003cstrong\u003eNissan Motor Co.\u003c\/strong\u003e also gives the film an additional layer of significance for collectors of Japanese automotive history. The Safari Rally had enormous importance to Japanese manufacturers during this era as they sought to establish their cars internationally through endurance competition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eYūjirō Ishihara\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor Japanese audiences, \u003cstrong\u003eYūjirō Ishihara\u003c\/strong\u003e was far more than simply the film’s leading actor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the defining screen stars of post-war Japan, Ishihara embodied a modern, affluent and internationally oriented masculinity that made him particularly well suited to the role of a globe-travelling racing driver.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere that star image is pushed to monumental scale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe helmet obscures almost everything except the suggestion of the man inside it. The character becomes inseparable from the machinery, speed and danger surrounding him—an unusually sophisticated image for a commercial racing poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe B2 format\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeasuring approximately \u003cstrong\u003e51.5 × 72.8 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e, the Japanese \u003cstrong\u003eB2\u003c\/strong\u003e was the principal theatrical poster format used in Japanese cinemas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe vertical dimensions are particularly effective for this design, allowing the giant helmet to dominate the upper field while the landscape and cast montage expand below it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOriginal Japanese first-release posters for \u003cstrong\u003eSafari 5000\u003c\/strong\u003e are considerably less frequently encountered than material for many better-known Japanese films of the period, while the combination of \u003cstrong\u003eIshihara, Mifune, Nakadai, international location photography and Japanese motorsport history\u003c\/strong\u003e gives the title unusually broad collecting appeal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVery Good+ original condition overall.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe poster retains \u003cstrong\u003eexceptionally strong colour and excellent visual impact\u003c\/strong\u003e, particularly the brilliant turquoise sky, deep orange African sunset, vivid red racing scarf and monumental white title lettering.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal storage folds \/ crease lines\u003c\/strong\u003e, together with age-related handling marks and some surface creasing. The margins show \u003cstrong\u003elocalized edge wear, small tears and minor paper loss \/ abrasion\u003c\/strong\u003e, particularly around the upper and right edges, with additional light handling wear visible elsewhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are also a few small surface marks and imperfections consistent with an original theatrical poster that has survived for more than half a century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImportantly, the \u003cstrong\u003eprincipal imagery remains very strong\u003c\/strong\u003e: Godai’s helmet, the sunset rally scene, cast portraits and title retain excellent colour and definition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse shows the corresponding fold structure, general age-related handling and natural paper toning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease review all photographs carefully; they show the \u003cstrong\u003eexact poster for sale, front and reverse\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese B2 theatrical poster from the film’s first-release campaign in 1969\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is \u003cstrong\u003enot a reproduction or modern reprint\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is approximately \u003cstrong\u003e57 years old\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57269605138810,"sku":null,"price":115.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/wall-shelf-with-ornaments_25_c921eb93-ff3e-46db-8e2e-cb0b8aac1100.jpg?v=1789461339","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/safari-5000-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1969-b0-size-100-0-x-141-4-cm-very-rare-copy","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}