{"product_id":"scarface-スカーフェイス-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1983-b2-size-51-73-cm-p25-copy","title":"“Scarface” (スカーフェイス), Original Japanese First-Release Double-Sided Promotional Poster \/ Press Sheet 1984, Rare B3 Size (c. 36 × 51 cm) B293","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese B3 double-sided promotional piece produced for the first Japanese release of Brian De Palma’s\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScarface\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003ein 1984\u003c\/strong\u003e, starring \u003cstrong\u003eAl Pacino\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eMichelle Pfeiffer\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eSteven Bauer\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eMary Elizabeth Mastrantonio\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eRobert Loggia\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe film was produced in \u003cstrong\u003e1983\u003c\/strong\u003e and opened theatrically in Japan on \u003cstrong\u003e28 April 1984\u003c\/strong\u003e. Accordingly, while \u003cem\u003eScarface\u003c\/em\u003e is correctly described as a 1983 film, this original Japanese first-release material dates from its \u003cstrong\u003e1984 Japanese theatrical campaign\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImportantly, this is \u003cstrong\u003enot the standard Japanese B2 theatrical one-sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e. It is a much more unusual \u003cstrong\u003eB3-format, double-sided promotional \/ press-style sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e, combining a dramatic poster composition on one side with extensive contemporary Japanese editorial material, cast biographies, production information and film stills across both sides.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDesign\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe principal side is divided into two dramatically contrasting halves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the left, \u003cstrong\u003eAl Pacino as Tony Montana\u003c\/strong\u003e dominates a deep black field in an enormous close-up portrait. His expression is characteristically severe and almost confrontational, while the vertical English typography:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAL PACINO SCARFACE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eruns down the right side of his portrait in huge cream-coloured letters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbove him, the Japanese campaign copy announces:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e「『ゴッドファーザー』から12年——\u003cbr\u003e男のロマンと壮烈なバイオレンスに満ちた衝撃の大作がやって来た！」\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e— approximately:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Twelve years after \u003cem\u003eThe Godfather\u003c\/em\u003e — a shocking epic filled with masculine ambition and fierce violence has arrived!”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reference to \u003cem\u003eThe Godfather\u003c\/em\u003e is particularly effective: by 1984, Pacino’s Michael Corleone was already one of the defining performances of modern American cinema, and the Japanese campaign deliberately positioned Tony Montana as the arrival of an altogether more explosive Pacino gangster antihero.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcross the lower portion appears:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e「アメリカン・ドリームを愛した男\u003cbr\u003e人は彼を“スカーフェイス”と呼んだ。」\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e— \u003cstrong\u003e“A man who loved the American Dream. They called him ‘Scarface.’”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese title:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eアル・パチーノ\u003cbr\u003eスカーフェイス\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eis rendered in bold white and vivid red, creating an exceptionally strong contrast against the black background.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSmall inset photographs introduce other characters and scenes without diluting the overwhelming emphasis on Pacino.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe “Star Memo” panel\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe right half takes a completely different approach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAgainst a vivid \u003cstrong\u003eturquoise-blue ground\u003c\/strong\u003e, the sheet presents an extensive contemporary Japanese \u003cstrong\u003e“Star Memo”\u003c\/strong\u003e feature, with photographs and biographical text devoted to the principal cast and director.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePortraits identify:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAL PACINO\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMICHELLE PFEIFFER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSTEVEN BAUER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003etogether with director:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBRIAN De PALMA\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lower section incorporates colour film stills showing Tony Montana’s extraordinary Miami interiors, his increasingly extravagant lifestyle and key characters from his rise and collapse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe contrast between the almost poster-like black left panel and the information-dense turquoise right panel gives the piece a distinctly \u003cstrong\u003e1980s Japanese promotional aesthetic\u003c\/strong\u003e—part advertisement, part press material and part collectible film ephemera.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReverse design\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse is equally substantial and confirms that this was intended as far more than a conventional decorative poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe upper centre presents another striking image of \u003cstrong\u003eTony Montana holding a large firearm\u003c\/strong\u003e, beneath the English heading:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAL PACINO SCARFACE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSurrounding him are extensive Japanese sections covering the \u003cstrong\u003estory, production history, cast, crew and background to the film\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA monochrome strip of numerous individual film stills stretches horizontally across the middle, almost like a miniature contact sheet, documenting characters, interiors, violence, relationships and Tony’s spectacular world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed staff and cast information identifies the extraordinary creative team behind the film:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDirector — Brian De Palma\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScreenplay — Oliver Stone\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProducer — Martin Bregman\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCinematography — John A. Alonzo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMusic — Giorgio Moroder\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor a collector, this dense contemporary editorial material makes the sheet particularly interesting: it preserves not only the campaign imagery but also \u003cstrong\u003ehow \u003cem\u003eScarface\u003c\/em\u003e was being presented to Japanese audiences at the moment of its original release\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFilm background\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet against the \u003cstrong\u003e1980 Mariel boatlift\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem\u003eScarface\u003c\/em\u003e follows \u003cstrong\u003eTony Montana\u003c\/strong\u003e, a Cuban refugee who arrives in Miami with virtually nothing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFerociously ambitious and unwilling to remain subordinate to anyone, Tony rapidly enters the city’s criminal underworld and begins working for cocaine trafficker \u003cstrong\u003eFrank Lopez\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHis appetite for wealth and power quickly exceeds that of those around him.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony takes control of the organisation, acquires the mansion, cars and opulent lifestyle he has always imagined, and marries \u003cstrong\u003eElvira Hancock\u003c\/strong\u003e, played by Michelle Pfeiffer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYet the very qualities that drive his ascent—\u003cstrong\u003epride, appetite, aggression and absolute refusal to compromise\u003c\/strong\u003e—ultimately make his empire impossible to sustain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDe Palma turns Tony’s rise and collapse into an almost operatic study of excess, while \u003cstrong\u003eOliver Stone’s screenplay\u003c\/strong\u003e uses the gangster narrative to explore immigration, capitalism, greed and the corrupted promise of the American Dream.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAl Pacino as Tony Montana\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the centre of the film is one of \u003cstrong\u003eAl Pacino’s most ferocious performances\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony Montana is deliberately excessive: swaggering, suspicious, charismatic, vulgar, violent and permanently hungry for more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePacino’s physicality, voice and extraordinary intensity transformed the character into a major cultural icon, far beyond the immediate context of the film.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTony’s image, dialogue and attitude subsequently became particularly influential in \u003cstrong\u003ehip-hop culture, fashion, music, gaming and popular representations of the self-made outlaw\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe character remains one of Pacino’s defining screen roles alongside Michael Corleone, Frank Serpico and Sonny Wortzik.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian De Palma and Oliver Stone\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eScarface\u003c\/em\u003e brought together two filmmakers with exceptionally strong personalities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBrian De Palma\u003c\/strong\u003e directs the film with extraordinary formal confidence, building elaborate tracking shots, vast interiors, graphic violence and increasingly operatic set pieces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOliver Stone’s screenplay\u003c\/strong\u003e relocates the basic rise-and-fall structure of the 1932 \u003cem\u003eScarface\u003c\/em\u003e into the cocaine economy of 1980s Miami.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe result is not a restrained gangster film. Its excess is fundamental to the design: enormous houses, mountains of cocaine, extravagant interiors, relentless language and sudden violence all mirror Tony’s belief that nothing should ever be enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJapanese first-release significance\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis piece belongs to the film’s \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal 1984 Japanese release campaign\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat distinction is important.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is not later commemorative merchandise, a home-video advertisement or a modern reproduction. It was printed when Japanese audiences were first being introduced theatrically to De Palma and Pacino’s film.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe unusual \u003cstrong\u003edouble-sided B3 configuration\u003c\/strong\u003e makes it especially appealing. Whereas conventional Japanese theatrical sheets generally devote the entire face to a single advertising composition, this example preserves a much broader body of contemporary promotional material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt functions simultaneously as \u003cstrong\u003efilm advertising, editorial design and an original period document of the Japanese campaign\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe B3 format\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Japanese \u003cstrong\u003eB3 format measures approximately 36.4 × 51.5 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e, half the area of the standard B2 cinema poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts smaller dimensions made it useful for promotional material requiring more detailed reading at close range, while still offering sufficient scale for strong visual presentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn landscape orientation, this particular sheet becomes especially effective: Pacino’s enormous portrait occupies one side while the turquoise information panel balances the composition across the other.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause this example is \u003cstrong\u003eprinted on both sides\u003c\/strong\u003e, framing can be approached in several ways—either displaying the striking primary face or using a reversible \/ double-glazed frame to retain access to the extraordinarily detailed reverse.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eExcellent condition overall.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe principal side retains \u003cstrong\u003eexcellent colour saturation and strong photographic definition\u003c\/strong\u003e, particularly in the deep black Pacino portrait, vivid red title lettering and brilliant turquoise editorial panel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlease review all photographs carefully; they show the \u003cstrong\u003eexact item for sale, including both printed sides\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal Japanese first-release promotional \/ press sheet produced for the film’s 1984 Japanese theatrical campaign\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eIt is \u003cstrong\u003enot a reproduction or modern reprint\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is approximately \u003cstrong\u003e42 years old\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCertificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57260918767994,"sku":null,"price":120.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/IMG_2145_32b60ed2-6fef-4973-929f-ecb3e903a317.jpg?v=1789268198","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/scarface-%e3%82%b9%e3%82%ab%e3%83%bc%e3%83%95%e3%82%a7%e3%82%a4%e3%82%b9-original-release-japanese-movie-poster-1983-b2-size-51-73-cm-p25-copy","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}