In 1967, Seijun Suzuki released Branded To Kill which was a wild hitman movie that confused Japanese audiences. The film has since gone on to be a cult classic. However at the time, the studio was upset and fired Suzuki under the claim that his “movies that make no sense and no money.” That same year, Atsushi Yamatoya wrote and directed Inflatable Sex Doll Of The Wastelands that was an equally bizarre hitman movie. Not only was Yamatoya one of the co-writers of the script, but appeared in Branded To Kill. While you’d imagine both films would cult hits, Inflatable has had a lower profile. Part of the problem has been access since Inflatable doesn’t appear to have had much of a home video release in America. Deaf Crocodile’s Blu-ray was restored off the only 35mm film elements, a worn and damaged release print. But now the film is here so you can enjoy what else Atsushi Yamatoya was doing in 1967.
A car drives through a desert landscape and drops off Shô (Dead Or Alive 2: Birds‘ Yûichi Minato). He’s got an itchy trigger finger as he wait, but not for long. He’s picked up by Naka, the realtor and they walk through the ravaged except Shô keeps having memories of a woman in a hotel room. The two end up by a lone tree in the wasteland where the realtor asks how Shô will kill his target. The realtor wants the hitman to shoot a bottle out of tree. Shô shatters the glass with one shot and proceeds to shoot the tree in half. He’s a good shot after all. The realtor is hiring him to track down and kill the mobsters who have kidnapped one of his employees and forced her to appear in nasty adult movies. He was part of the original kidnapping – tied to a chair and forced to watch the depravity being filmed. He accepts the case although parts of it reminds him of the tragic ending of someone close to him. Is he going to solve two cases at once?
Inflatable Sex Doll Of The Wastelands shows that the aesthetic of Branded To Kill wasn’t supposed to be part of a bigger genre. Atsushi Yamatoya doesn’t make this a direct hardboiled crime tale. He uses odd editing tricks and surreal situations on Shô. The film was produced for a low budget studio eager to put out films that were roughies with a topless cast. Yamatoya delivers on that level which is why he didn’t get in trouble with his artsy take on situations. As long as they saw gunplay and carnality on the screen, the backers were happy. One scene involves a lady who enjoys foreplay by having Shô press his gun against head and other body parts. There are moments where you wonder if you’d be seeing this film at the Art House, the Grindhouse or the Adult Theater if it made it to America in the late ’60s. No matter which theater you choose, it’s an entertaining, disturbing and unpredictable film. There are moments that seem like a fantasy, but it all hangs together as one piece without being jarring. Sex Doll Of The Wastelands is a worthwhile revival showing how Atsushi Yamatoya knew how to play with the gangster formula in ’67.
The Video is 2.35:1 anamorphic. The black and white transfer looks good for what was described as a rough 35mm print that played theaters. It’s good to know the film has been saved and can be appreciated by people who want to see the hitman weirdness. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono in Japanese. The restoration work keeps it sounding pristine in most scenes so you can appreciate silent moments instead of heading crackles. The movie is subtitled in English.
Commentary Track is from Arne Venema and Mike Leeder. I’m so used to hearing them on Hong Kong films. They also know their Japanese cinema. They go deep into both Atsushi Yamatoya’s life and career as actor, director and screenwriter. He did Lupin The Third scripts. There is discussions of the pink movies and its place in the X-rated films.
Tomorrow Won’t Be A Dream (13:04) is a visual essay by Dr. Will Dodson and Ryan Verrill.
Interview with Alexander Zahlten (82:36) has the critic talk to Dennis Bartok about the Pink Film era in Japanese cinema. He gets into how TV really cut deep into box office in the late ’60s. The solution to get people back in the seats is run movies that are a bit racy. Something that can’t be broadcast on TV. Eventually this evolves into the Pink Film that features actresses without wardrobes. Dennis also brings up a Japanese film his mother appeared in that was hard to find.
Restoration Demo (2:46) shows what they had to do to restore the 35m print.
Deaf Crocodile presents Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands. Directed by Atsushi Yamatoya. Screenplay by Atsushi Yamatoya. Starring Noriko Tatsumi, Yūichi Minato, Miki Watari, Shōhei Yamamoto, Seigi Nogami, Hatsuo Yamaya, Mari Nagisa & Akaji Maro. Running Time: 87 minutes. Rated: Unrated. Release Date: November 11, 2025.
