This accessory poster includes some Japanese film titles in addition to Star Wars. Note the musical notes surrounding the text blurbs -- could it be John Williams' score?
A rare, hand-painted billboard poster for the 1982 re-release of Star Wars in Japan, these one-of-a-kind pieces were not meant to be saved. Traditionally, when a film had moved on, a new poster would be painted over the original. Based on Tom Jung's Style "A" poster artwork, this water-color illustration measures a towering 35x80 inches.
More examples of hand-painted posters, the one at left features artwork used for the 1982 Japanese dub commemorative poster as well as Jung's Style "A". At right, the Jung artwork is repeated above and below the title. Cheaper printing technology has made the hand-painted movie poster in Japan virtually obsolete in recent years.
In addition to posters, Japanese theaters often displayed other advertising materials to promote their films. At left is a counter display to hold chirashis, or handbills, promoting Star Wars. At right is a postcard ad. Unlike today, where most posters and promotional materials are universal across all venues, in the late '70s and '80s each theater could create their own ad campaigns.
These plates, one made of aluminum and one of pewter, were installed on the floor and wall of the OS Theater in Osaka. When the theater was razed in 1990, Takizawa was able to retrieve the pair. Each states the number of guests attending (38,500) and the number of days it played (108).
This rare poster illustration was created for an Osaka-area promotional campaign that offered a limited number of the prints as contest prizes. The artwork was also featured in newspaper advertisements for the promotion.
Here is a rare example of a release poster created exclusively for a specific venue -- in this case, the Mori Koji Million Za Theater.
This business card-size discount coupon could be redeemed, along with 12 others like it, for one free pass to Star Wars in 1978.
A large commemorative poster for Revenge of the Sith was relatively expensive (¥10,000) in 2005, and consequently didn't sell well. Naturally, it's become a rare poster today.
