Poster Details
English title: Sword of Doom
Poster title: 大菩薩峠
Poster Year: 1966
Poster Origin: Japanese
Size: B1x3 86x40" (218x103cm)
Film title: 大菩薩峠
Film Year: 1966
Film Origin: Japan
Film Directors: Kihachi Okamoto
Film Actors: Tatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaYûzô KayamaYôko Naitô
Film Plot: Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.
Categories: CultMartial ArtsFilmLarge Posters
Grade: C7 Fine to Very Fine. Folded, single-sided. Left C8: Unused poster with minimal handling/edge/fold wear, only some minor cross fold wear and light yellowing of the paper mainly visible from the verso, Center C7: Unused poster with minimal handling/edge/fold wear, some minor cross fold wear and light yellowing of the paper mainly visible from the verso, would grade higher if not for a tear on the lower left side repaired with acid-free tape on the back and touched up with acid-free watercolor pencils from the front. Right C8: Unused poster with minimal handling/edge/fold wear, only some minor cross fold wear and light yellowing of the paper mainly visible from the verso.
Framing: List prices are for posters only. Please inquire to discuss framing options.
Price: $750
“The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword.” These prophetic words of warning are spoken by Toshiro Mifune’s (三船 敏郎) wise samurai character and really cut to the heart of Sword of Doom. The 1966 sword-play masterpiece directed by Kihachi Okamoto (岡本 喜八) departs from the good/bad, honorable/corrupted samurai conventions to focus on an amoral and unhinged protagonist whose extreme bloodlust was unlike any filmgoers had seen before.
Japanese premiere billboards — made from three overlapping B1s — are some of the rarest posters in Japan. Nearly all were displayed and discarded as they took up so much space and were not desirable to space-conscious Japanese collectors. For a country that prioritized collecting 7×10″ chirashi, this 7′ wide billboard was simply not feasible to display in most Japanese homes. Flash forward to today and any country-of-origin paper from this important film is extremely scarce. This billboard is surely among the most important posters remaining and I have never encountered another copy anywhere.