“The Irishman”, Original Japanese First Release Theatrical and Netflix Promotional Poster 2019, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) M166

This is an original Japanese B2 promotional poster produced in 2019 for the first Japanese release of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (アイリッシュマン). Starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, the film received a limited Japanese theatrical release on 15 November 2019, followed by its Netflix premiere on 27 November 2019—both dates prominently recorded on the poster.

Written by Steven Zaillian and adapted from Charles Brandt’s book I Heard You Paint Houses, the film is among the most ambitious works of Scorsese’s later career and reunites the director with several of the performers most closely associated with American crime cinema.

Film background

The Irishman follows Frank Sheeran, a truck driver and Second World War veteran who becomes involved with Pennsylvania crime boss Russell Bufalino and later serves as a close associate of Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa.

Told through Sheeran’s recollections late in life, the film spans several decades of American history, organised crime, labour politics, and personal betrayal. At its centre is the unresolved disappearance of Hoffa and Sheeran’s claimed involvement in the events surrounding it.

Rather than presenting the criminal world through youthful glamour or rapid momentum, Scorsese constructs a sombre meditation on loyalty, violence, ageing, memory, and the emotional consequences of a life governed by obedience.

Robert De Niro portrays Frank Sheeran with unusual restraint, while Joe Pesci gives a quietly commanding performance as Russell Bufalino. Al Pacino’s volatile interpretation of Jimmy Hoffa provides the film with its most forceful dramatic counterpoint.

Poster design

This Japanese B2 adopts a restrained, monumental photographic composition centred upon the film’s three principal figures.

Joe Pesci appears at left as Russell Bufalino, framed in profile and wearing large dark glasses. Robert De Niro occupies the centre as Frank Sheeran, positioned between the two powerful men whose competing demands shape his life. At right, Al Pacino appears as Jimmy Hoffa, facing De Niro with a guarded and confrontational expression.

The low-angle arrangement gives the three figures an imposing physical presence, while the blurred urban architecture behind them suggests the institutional and political world within which the story unfolds.

Across the upper portion, the Japanese title appears in strong red typography:

「アイリッシュマン」
“The Irishman”

Above it, the principal cast is identified:

「ロバート・デ・ニーロ｜アル・パチーノ｜ジョー・ペシ」
“Robert De Niro | Al Pacino | Joe Pesci”

The accompanying credit reads:

「マーティン・スコセッシ監督作品」
“A Film by Martin Scorsese”

At the bottom, the poster clearly distinguishes the two stages of the Japanese release:

「11月15日（金）一部劇場にて公開」
“In selected cinemas from Friday, 15 November”

and

「11月27日（水）NETFLIX」
“Netflix from Wednesday, 27 November”

The dark charcoal, muted brown, and cold blue palette reflects the film’s elegiac tone, while the red title and Netflix branding provide a sharp visual contrast. The result is a dignified and imposing design that presents the film as both a contemporary release and a summation of post-war American crime cinema.

Cultural significance

The Irishman represents a major late-career convergence of Scorsese, De Niro, Pesci, and Pacino. Its reflective treatment of gangster mythology deliberately contrasts with the velocity and seduction of earlier crime films, examining what remains after power, loyalty, and violence have exhausted themselves.

The film also marked an important moment in the changing relationship between theatrical exhibition and streaming distribution. This Japanese poster documents both components of its original release campaign, advertising a limited cinema engagement immediately followed by its Netflix debut.

Condition

Very Good+. The poster retains strong colour, crisp photographic detail, and excellent overall display impact. There is minor wear and a short edge split at the lower centre, together with light handling consistent with an authentic promotional poster of this size and period. Once framed, the poster will display extremely well. Please review the photographs—they show the exact poster for sale.

This is an official original Japanese B2 poster from the 2019 first-release campaign.
It is not a reproduction or an unauthorised reprint.

It is approximately 7 years old.

Certificate of Authenticity included.