“Thunderball”, Original First-Release Japanese Movie Poster, 1965, Ultra Rare, STB Tatekan Size (51 × 145 cm), Linen Backed, Museum Grade Near Mint

“Thunderball”, Original First-Release Japanese Movie Poster, 1965, STB Tatekan Size
Japanese title: 「007／サンダーボール作戦」 (007 / Sandābōru Sakusen — “Operation Thunderball”)
Size: STB / Tatekan, approx. 20 × 57½ in. / 51 × 145 cm
Format: Japanese two-panel standing-board poster
Country / Distributor: Japan / United Artists
First Japanese release: 11 December 1965, following the Tokyo world premiere at Hibiya Cinema on 9 December 1965.
Director: Terence Young
Screenplay: Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins; based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham and the original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming.
Starring: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter, Guy Doleman, Molly Peters, Martine Beswick, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell.

Why this is a holy grail

This is an original Japanese STB / tatekan poster printed in 1965 for the first Japanese theatrical release of Thunderball. Japan’s connection to the film is especially significant: its world premiere was held at Tokyo’s Hibiya Cinema on 9 December 1965, immediately before the wider Japanese opening on 11 December. This poster therefore belongs to the earliest international campaign surrounding one of the defining Sean Connery-era Bond productions.

For Bond collectors, this STB belongs in a different category from the standard Japanese B2 format. At approximately 145 cm tall, it transforms the campaign imagery into a monumental vertical display: Bond in black tie with pistol raised, the Bell-Textron rocket pack behind him, a colossal scarlet 007 device dominating the centre, and an expansive montage of underwater combat, aircraft, explosions, frogmen and glamour below.

Its imposing scale, fragile two-panel construction and intended cinema-display use make surviving examples appreciably more difficult to obtain than conventional Japanese one-sheets. 

This example is further distinguished by its linen backing and near-mint presentation. It combines first-release status, an exceptionally scarce Japanese format and conservation-quality display condition—precisely the qualities sought by advanced Bond and international film-poster collectors.

Design highlights

This is a phenomenal piece of Japanese Bond design. The upper section is anchored by a commanding painted image of Bond in formal evening wear, holding a long-barrelled pistol beside the film’s instantly recognizable rocket pack. The cream background, deep teal framing device and blue vertical typography give the figure extraordinary clarity and presence.

The centre of the composition is structured around the enormous red 0-0-7 numerals, which operate as both title device and graphic architecture. Inside the upper zero, the Japanese text 「総天然色 パナビジョン」 announces full colour and Panavision, while painted action vignettes spill through and around the lower numerals.

The lower section shifts into a cool marine palette. Domino occupies the centre of an elaborate montage crossed by spear guns, surrounded by Bond, the Disco Volante, SPECTRE frogmen, underwater combat and Bond in his vivid red diving suit. A Vulcan bomber, helicopter and explosive aerial sequences carry the action upward through the design, creating a continuous visual rhythm from sea to sky.

The Japanese title 「サンダーボール作戦」 runs vertically down the left side in enormous red-orange characters, balanced by blue promotional copy along the right margin. The compact advertising text promises “twice the screen, three times the action” and emphasizes the film’s new weapons and escalating spectacle.

The names of Claudine Auger, Luciana Paluzzi, Martine Beswick and Molly Peters appear in the right-hand credits, while the lower edge retains the English billing “Sean Connery in Ian Fleming’s Thunderball — Panavision • Technicolor” and the original United Artists distribution mark.

The film

Thunderball sends Bond to Nassau after SPECTRE steals a Vulcan bomber carrying two nuclear warheads and demands £100 million from NATO. Bond’s investigation leads him to Emilio Largo, Largo’s yacht the Disco Volante, and Domino, whose connection to the stolen aircraft ultimately helps expose the plot. The mission culminates in the film’s celebrated underwater battle between SPECTRE divers and American aqua-paratroopers.

Directed by Terence Young, the film greatly expanded the scale of the early Bond cycle. It was the first Bond production photographed in widescreen Panavision, with approximately a quarter of its running time taking place underwater. John Stears received the Academy Award for the film’s special visual effects, while John Barry composed the score and Tom Jones performed the title song.

The poster reflects that technical ambition directly. Its Panavision inscription, immense vertical scale and dense combination of aerial, aquatic and glamour imagery market Thunderball not simply as another espionage film, but as an international spectacle.

The Tokyo world premiere gives the Japanese campaign additional historical resonance. Unlike later overseas advertising created after a film’s success was established, this poster formed part of the earliest release programme for a production being launched onto the international stage from Japan itself.

About the STB / Tatekan format

Japanese STB / tatekan posters were tall standing-board advertisements, generally formed from two B2 sheets arranged vertically. The name derives from tate kanban, meaning “standing signboard.” They were designed for theatre-front frames and free-standing cinema displays rather than domestic preservation.

Specialist format references place the STB at approximately 20 × 58 inches, and note that it was largely discontinued by the mid-1970s. Minor dimensional variations are normal between individual printings and surviving examples.

Their public-display purpose, considerable length and two-sheet construction made them especially vulnerable to mounting, separation, edge damage and disposal. High-grade early examples therefore survive far less frequently than standard B2 posters. Heritage’s catalogue record confirms both the original two-sheet construction and scarcity of this particular Thunderball STB.

Condition

Near Mint / Museum Grade presentation. Linen backed.

This is an exceptional survivor of a format rarely encountered in such strong display condition. The poster presents beautifully, with vivid scarlet typography, clean cream tones, saturated blue and turquoise areas, deep blacks and excellent image definition.

The two original panels have been conservation-backed on linen, providing stability and a flat, unified display surface while preserving the original STB construction. The backing greatly enhances both presentation and long-term handling suitability.

Only minimal evidence of age is apparent from normal viewing distance. The overall freshness, colour retention and visual impact are exceptional for a first-release Japanese theatrical poster of this scale.

Please review the photographs carefully, as they show the exact linen-backed poster offered for sale.

Authentication

Guaranteed original; first-release Japanese STB / tatekan poster produced for the 1965 Japanese theatrical release of Thunderball / 007／サンダーボール作戦. This is not a reproduction or later reissue. 

A linen-backed, museum-grade Bond rarity: one of the most commanding Japanese poster formats created for the Connery era, and a cornerstone piece for any advanced James Bond, 1960s cinema or Japanese graphic-design collection.