Black Orpheus

Orfeu Negro
Brazil, 1959
Director: Marcel Camus
Starring: Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lourdes de Oliveira

Unique poster for the 2000 release.

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Lady Kung Fu

Hapkido / He qi dao
Hong Kong, 1972
Director: Feng Huang
Starring: Angela Mao, Carter Wong, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

USA, 1978
Director: Philip Kaufman
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy

Design by Bill Gold

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Be My Slave

Watashi no dorei ni narinasai
Japan, 2012
Director: Toru Kamei
Starring: Mitsu Dan, Itsuji Itao, Hiroaki Mayama, Aya Sugimoto

For obvious reasons, its easy to overlook what's going on in the background of this poster!

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

The Perfect Education

Kanzen-naru shiiku
Japan, 1999
Director: Ben Wada
Starring: Naoto Takenaka, Hijiri Kojima, Kazuki Kitamura, Asami Sawaki, Shinya Tsukamoto, Guts Ishimatsu

Design by Tadanori Yokoo

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

The Great Yokai War / Giant Monster Gamera

Double bill: Yôkai daisensô / Daikaijû Gamera
Japan, 1965
Director: Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Starring: Yoshihiko Aoyama, Hideki Hanamura, Chikara Hashimoto, Eiji Funakoshi, Harumi Kiritachi, Junichiro Yamashiko

Double-bill release from 1984

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Battle League in Kyoto (B)

Kamogawa horumô
Japan, 2009
Director: Katsuhide Motoki
Starring: Takayuki Yamada, Chiaki Kuriyama, Gaku Hamada, Sei Ashina, Renji Ishibashi

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Pistol Opera

Pisutoru opera
Japan, 2001
Director: Seijun Suzuki Starring: Makiko Esumi, Sayoko Yamaguchi, Hanae Kan

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

The Last Dinosaur

Japan, 1977
Director: Alexander Grasshoff
Starring: Richard Boone, Joan Van Ark, Steven Keats, Tetsu Nakamura, Masumi Sekiya

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Female Beautician Rope Discipline

Dan Oniroku onna biyoshi nawa shiku
Japan, 1981
Director: Hidehiro Ito
Starring: Junko Mabuki, Shin Nakamaru, Izumi Shima

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Ultraman: Monster Big Battle

Urutoraman - Kaijû daikessen
Japan, 1979
Director: Noriko Shishikura
Starring: Akiji Kobayashi, Susumu Kurobe, Sandayuu Dokumamushi

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

The Power of Pussy

Japan, 1999
Director: Naoko Nozawa
Starring: Hidetoshi Kelly, Yukiko Takeuchi, Ex-girl

Including the movies Monkfish Dream and The Legend of the Water Breakers. Featuring the distinctive artwork of Junko Mizuno!

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Mari's Prey

Japan, 1986
Director: Keiichiro Yoshida
Starring: Makiko Kuno, Ren Ohsugi, Kenichi Endo

Hard-to-find poster for an even harder-to-find movie. Features the gorgeous Makiko Kuno (XX:Beautiful Hunter).

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Bad Sorts

Warui yatsura
Japan, 1980
Director: Yoshitaro Nomura
Starring: Takao Kataoka, Meiko Kaji, Keiko Matsuzaka, Junko Miyashita, Ken Ogata

Meiko Kaji, Keiko Matsuzaka, and Junko Miyashita all in one movie!

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (C)

Yagyû ichizoku no inbô
Japan, 1978
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Starring: Kinnosuke Nakamura, Sonny Chiba, Hiroki Matsukata, Tetsuro Tanba, Yoshio Harada

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Dance of Yasha Woman

Japan, 2000
Director: Ikuo Sekimoto
Starring: Miki Fujitani, Ryuji Harada, Makoto Fujita

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Gate of Youth

Seishun no mon
Japan, 1981
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Starring: Bunta Sugawara, Keiko Matsuzaka, Koichi Sato, Tomisaburo Wakayama, Koji Tsuruta

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

The House of Hanging

Byoinzaka no kubikukuri no ie
Japan, 1979
Director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Koji Ishizaka, Yoshiko Sakuma, Junko Sakurada, Koji Shimizu

Great colourful illustration - love the hanging feet!

Interesting that it seems to be signed by "Maru Kawa" - given that Maru is Japanese for "zero", and Ichi is Japanese for "one" - could Marukawa/Ichikawa be one and the same person? Mr Ichikawa originally intended to be an artist, so no doubt he would be capable of illustrating his own movie posters. If anyone has insight on this, let us know!

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Black Lizard

Kuro tokage
Japan, 1968
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Starring: Akihiro Miwa, Isao Kimura, Kikko Matsuoka, Ko Nishimura, Tetsuro Tanba

This poster is for the 1991 release.

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

Barber's Sorrow (B)

Rihatuten aruji no kanashimi
Japan, 2002
Director: Ryuichi Hiroki
Starring: Toshiki Ayata, Seiji Chihara, Akira Emoto, Mihoko Sonouchi, Tomorowo Taguchi

According to one site, the art here is by famed artist/designer Tadanori Yokoo, however I have been unable to verify that. See also Version A

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

The Reincarnation of Peter Proud

USA, 1975
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Starring: Michael Sarrazin, Jennifer O'Neill, Margot Kidder

Great illustrated poster for this old horror movie. According to IMDB, David Fincher holds the rights to do a remake.

Get the original Japanese movie poster here

El Mariachi

USA, 1992
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Jaime de Hoyos

Unique illustrated poster for Robert Rodriguez' first movie.

Get the original Japanese movie poster here