“Yellow Submarine” (ビートルズ／イエロー・サブマリン), Ultra-Rare Original First Japanese Release Movie Poster 1969, B2 Size (c. 51 × 73 cm) S8
This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster from the first Japanese release of Yellow Submarine, George Dunning’s landmark animated Beatles film.
Although produced and first released internationally in 1968, the film opened in Japan in 1969, making this an original first-release Japanese theatrical poster rather than a later revival or reproduction.
Yellow Submarine remains one of the defining visual documents of the psychedelic era, combining The Beatles’ music, Pop Art, surrealism and experimental animation in a style developed under art director Heinz Edelmann.
Design
The Japanese B2 is one of the most visually spectacular international designs created for the film.
The upper section is filled with an extraordinary field of black elliptical holes, through which animated Beatles figures and fantastical characters appear, disappear and tumble through space.
Across the centre, a sweeping white ribbon carries the Japanese title 「ビートルズ／イエロー・サブマリン」, alongside a wonderfully psychedelic campaign line encouraging audiences to open their eyes, open their ears and experience the film with their whole body.
Below, the famous yellow submarine travels across undulating bands of turquoise, blue and green, while the lower section erupts into the surreal world of Pepperland with Beatles figures, strange creatures and intensely coloured organic forms.
The English title The Beatles Yellow Submarine appears prominently with the phrase “NOTHING IS REAL.”
The entire composition is unmistakably late-1960s: bold, surreal, colourful and completely unlike conventional film advertising.
Film / Cultural Significance
Yellow Submarine sends the animated Beatles into the underwater world of Pepperland, where music and colour have been suppressed by the Blue Meanies.
The film incorporates songs including “Yellow Submarine,” “All You Need Is Love,” “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “Nowhere Man” and others into increasingly surreal animated sequences.
Its radical graphic style became hugely influential and remains closely associated with the visual culture of 1960s psychedelia and The Beatles at their creative peak.
The original Japanese campaign is particularly collectible because it presents this familiar material through a distinctly Japanese graphic treatment.
B2 posters were functional cinema advertising, commonly pinned or mounted for display and discarded when the theatrical run ended. Surviving examples now appeal across several collecting fields: The Beatles, psychedelic art, animation, Japanese film posters and 1960s graphic design.
The lower-right corner retains the original United Artists / ユナイト映画 distributor markings and Japanese Eirin classification number 44209, confirming its period theatrical provenance.
Condition
Very Good condition overall.
This poster was genuinely displayed and retains evidence of its theatrical use, including pinholes, edge tears, small areas of paper loss, handling creases and minor age-related staining and wear.
There is notable wear at the upper corners and edges, together with smaller losses and pinholes around the lower margins. A small piece of tape/adhesive is also present on the reverse near the upper edge.
Importantly, the central artwork remains complete, colourful and visually powerful, and the condition issues are concentrated mainly around the margins.
Once professionally framed, this poster will display excellently. The condition has been fully taken into account in our pricing.
Please review all photographs carefully; they show the exact poster for sale.
This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster from the first Japanese release of Yellow Submarine in 1969.
It is not a reproduction or a later reprint.
It measures approximately 51 × 73 cm / 20 × 29 in.
It is over 57 years old.
Certificate of Authenticity included.
