This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed for the first Japanese release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture / 「スター・トレック」, Robert Wise’s landmark 1979 science-fiction epic, released theatrically in Japan in 1980.
The film marked the first cinematic appearance of the original Star Trek cast and launched the long-running feature-film series. This spectacular Japanese poster adapts Bob Peak’s iconic painted artwork, combining the faces of Kirk, Ilia, and Spock with the newly refitted USS Enterprise, a vast starfield, and monumental columns of rainbow-coloured light.
Film background
Set several years after the conclusion of the original television series, the film begins when an enormous and immensely powerful energy cloud is detected travelling through space towards Earth.
The mysterious entity, known as V’Ger, destroys everything in its path and appears capable of overwhelming even the most advanced defences available to Starfleet.
Admiral James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, assumes command of the newly refitted USS Enterprise and leads the ship on an emergency mission to intercept the approaching phenomenon.
Kirk reunites with Dr. Leonard McCoy and later with Spock, who senses an immense consciousness within V’Ger. The Enterprise crew gradually discovers that the entity’s apparent hostility is connected to its search for its creator and its inability to understand the emotional and imperfect nature of human life.
Directed by Robert Wise, the film was produced by Gene Roddenberry, creator of the original Star Trek television series.
The principal cast includes William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Persis Khambatta, and Stephen Collins.
The production emerged from Paramount’s abandoned plans for a new television series titled Star Trek: Phase II. Following the renewed commercial strength of theatrical science fiction during the late 1970s, the project was expanded into a major feature film. It opened in the United States on 7 December 1979 and brought the Enterprise to cinema screens for the first time.
The Enterprise was extensively redesigned inside and out, with new sets, uniforms, miniatures, and visual-effects technology created for the film.
Following serious difficulties with the original effects programme, Robert Wise and Paramount brought in Douglas Trumbull and a team that included John Dykstra to complete the ambitious spacecraft and V’Ger sequences.
The orchestral score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith and became one of the defining musical achievements of the franchise.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture received three Academy Award nominations, recognising its art direction, original score, and visual effects.
Poster design
The poster presents a monumental vision of space built around a vertical spectrum of brilliant colour.
A vast rainbow column descends from the upper edge in bands of pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, and blue. The luminous structure cuts through a deep black starfield filled with distant galaxies, planets, and scattered points of light.
Within the coloured beams appear the faces of three principal characters.
At left is Admiral James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, his face rendered in warm red and orange tones.
At the centre is Lieutenant Ilia, played by Persis Khambatta, her portrait emerging softly from the yellow light.
At right is Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, presented in green and blue, with his sharply defined features and distinctive Vulcan appearance forming the strongest of the three portraits.
The use of different colours for each character gives the composition an almost spiritual or metaphysical quality, reflecting the film’s themes of consciousness, identity, evolution, and the meeting of humanity with an intelligence beyond its understanding.
Below the portraits, the USS Enterprise travels directly towards the viewer.
The spacecraft is shown with its newly redesigned saucer section, nacelles, and illuminated hull. Long arcs of pale-blue light sweep outward from the vessel across the starfield, creating a sense of enormous speed and spatial depth.
The Enterprise is relatively small compared with the rainbow structure and surrounding universe, emphasising the scale of the unknown phenomenon faced by its crew.
The Japanese title occupies the lower centre:
「スター・トレック」
The katakana lettering is rendered in a substantial angular typeface with black interiors and coloured red, yellow, and blue edging.
Immediately beneath it appears the original English title:
STAR TREK
THE MOTION PICTURE
The title treatment reflects the rainbow spectrum above and creates a strong visual bridge between the painted artwork and the Japanese typography.
The principal Japanese tagline reads:
「今こそ 人類の冒険が始まる」
“Now, humanity’s adventure begins.”
The line presents the film as the beginning of a new age of exploration, both for the characters and for the Star Trek franchise itself.
Artist note
The original artwork was created by the celebrated American illustrator Bob Peak, whose signature is visible at the lower right of the image.
Peak was one of the most influential commercial illustrators of the twentieth century and created the principal poster artwork for the first five Star Trek feature films.
His design for Star Trek: The Motion Picture combines character portraiture, geometric light, spacecraft imagery, and abstract cosmic space into a single elegant composition.
Rather than depicting a conventional battle or action scene, Peak’s artwork communicates the wonder, scale, and philosophical ambition of the film.
The vertical rainbow has become one of the most immediately recognisable images associated with cinematic Star Trek and helped establish the visual identity of the original film series.
This Japanese version preserves Peak’s central artwork while introducing localised typography, Japanese billing, exhibition information, and the prominent Japanese title.
Release note
Star Trek: The Motion Picture was produced and originally released in the United States in 1979.
It received its first Japanese theatrical release on 12 July 1980 under the title:
「スター・トレック」
The Japanese release was distributed through Paramount and CIC.
This poster was printed for the film’s original 1980 Japanese theatrical campaign.
It is a standard Japanese B2-size theatrical poster, measuring approximately:
51.5 × 72.8 cm / 20.3 × 28.7 inches
It is an original period Japanese cinema poster, not a later reproduction or commercial reprint.
Condition
Excellent condition. A highly attractive example with rich colour, beautifully preserved Bob Peak artwork, sharp typography, and exceptional overall display impact.
The poster has two period horizontal fold lines, together with light surface creasing and minor edge and corner wear consistent with an original Japanese theatrical poster of this age.
Some additional gentle handling creases are visible along the side margins and near the folds, but there are no major tears, significant staining, or distracting image loss.
The colours remain particularly vivid, the deep black starfield presents strongly, and the rainbow spectrum retains excellent brightness.
Reference: H292.
Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact poster for sale.
This is an original 1980 Japanese theatrical poster.
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
It is now over 45 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
