28/05/2026
Have you heard of Japanese movie pamphlets?!
I couldn’t resist adding these original cinema booklets to my collection… joining Dumb & Dumber, Mac & Me and many more! (I also gave away the Labyrinth one as a prize!)
This is the original 1980 Popeye pamphlet in pristine condition plus the original 1985 House pamphlet. House was a film that I remembered but didn’t know what it was for YEARS… mainly because I saw it when I was less than 10 years old. I now LOVE it and own the brilliant edition.
If you like films and don’t own any original Japanese movie pamphlets… get yourself drunk and on EBay and you’ll have a great time!
‘japanese theatrical pamphlets are magazine-like booklets that contain information about a film, similar to a programme or a playbill. they have bios on the cast & crew, plot descriptions, behind-the-scenes details, reviews, the occasional essay, and images from the movie. in japan, film production and distribution companies like shochiku and toho make and sell them to accompany the screening of a film, whether that’s a brand new domestic release, the japanese debut of a foreign film, or a special screening of an older movie.
theater programs have existed in some form in europe since the 1600s, possibly earlier. they began as simple leaflets and flyers, often hand-written or letterpressed, made to advertise upcoming plays and other events. the earliest versions were sometimes printed in newspapers and lean very text-heavy’ - meanstreets
