NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray (January 2026): Deaf Crocodile have transferred Atsushi Yamatoya's Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands to Blu-ray. A text screen informs us: Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands was restored from the only known remaining 35mm element - a badly worn and damaged release print, scanned by Rapid Eye Movies in Germany. The print was so badly damaged it had to be scanned in bits and pieces. There were numerous broken and even missing frames. As would be expected from a worn release print, there were considerable scratches and dirt present and large tape splices needed to be digitally repaired at each cut. Image stability was an issue throughout. Large sections of the film had significant moisture damage which presents itself on screen as a wildly irregular "flicker".

The restoration, handled by Rapid Eye Movies in Germany and digitally repaired by Craig Rogers for Deaf Crocodile, heroically stabilizes the image, removes or minimizes many imperfections, and preserves the stark black-and-white cinematography's noirish contrasts and disorienting aesthetics, though some inherent blemishes like occasional flicker, splice marks, and grain remain as artifacts of the source material's poor condition. While not pristine due to the print's limitations, the transfer looks remarkably good, capturing the film's experimental visual flair with solid detail, depth, and shadow play that enhances its surreal, dreamlike quality without over-processing, making it the best possible version for this long-obscure cult gem. Cinematographer Hajime Kai's (only film credit) black-and-white photography renders sex scenes as animalistic and disturbing while crafting a kaleidoscopic world of dive bars, warehouses filled with eerie sex dolls, and barren deserts. Hopefully the screen captures below give an idea of the 1080P HD presentation.

Atsushi Yamatoya's Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands was initially available on Blu-ray by Third Window (UK) in their first Pink Films Vol. 1 & 2 that is sadly out-of-print.

NOTE: We have added 94 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Deaf Crocodile use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original Japanese language. A text screen informs us: "the audio was equally challenging and well beyond our in-house audio restoration capabilities. It was time to call in the pros at Audio Mechanics in Burbank, CA. They did a heroic job clearing up the audio, fixing badly out of sync shots and miraculously removing a loud repetitive noise that ran throughout a large portion of the film. An element in this condition would normally never be used in a restoration effort, but in this case it was the only element known to exist and the film deserves to be seen in the best possible condition it can be." The Blu-ray's audio features some inherent distortions like compressed dialogue and residual background noise from the original print, but restorations have clarified it sufficiently to appreciate the score's impact and the deliberate silences that punctuate the discord. Complementing the film's chaotic visuals is a groundbreaking soundscape dominated by Yōsuke Yamashita's (Dr Akagi) atonal free jazz score, which lacks melodic or harmonic centers, mirroring the narrative's absence of a clear center and underscoring the obsessive brutality with manic, dissonant bursts. The percussive, improvisational jazz - blending smooth, foreboding melodies with frantic sonic freakouts - echoes the savagery on screen, heightening tension during violent sequences and erotic encounters while adding an avant-garde layer that aligns with the Japanese New Wave's experimental ethos. Yamashita incorporates peculiar touches of traditional Japanese instrumentation and song, creating a hybrid sound that feels both culturally rooted and rule-breaking, perfectly synchronized with the film's abstract editing and action. Deaf Crocodile offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A'-locked Blu-ray.

The Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray supplements contextualize the film's place in Japanese pink cinema, starting with a new audio commentary by film historians Arne Venema and Mike Leeder (editor of 100% Jackie Chan: The Essential Companion,) who delve into production details, cultural significance, and Atsushi Yamatoya's career. A lengthy new video interview (almost 1.5 hours) with film professor Alexander Zahlten explores the pink film subgenre's history and innovations, while a shorter video essay (1/4 hour) by journalist Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson examines the movie's themes and legacy. Additional features include a brief restoration demo (less than 3-minutes) showcasing before-and-after comparisons of the video and audio fixes. There is a reversible sleeve with alternate artwork (see below) This disc is the standard edition (following a limited deluxe slipcase version with an essay book.) This standard edition does offer a QR Code to access the transcribed bonus content.

Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands is a seminal work in Japanese pink cinema, directed and written by Atsushi Yamatoya, primarily a screenwriter who collaborated with Seijun Suzuki, vbut who entured into directing with this film as a means to explore creative freedom outside the constraints of major studios like Nikkatsu. Produced by one of the rare female figures in the industry, Keiko Sato (actress in Funeral Parade of Roses) - also credited under the pseudonym Daisuke Asakura - the film exemplifies the early pinku eiga (softcore erotic) genre's blend of low-budget exploitation, surreal experimentation, and subversive storytelling. Starring Noriko Tatsumi (Slave Widow) as the enigmatic Sae, alongside Yuichi Minato (Angel Guts: Red Porno) as the hitman Sho, it merges yakuza gangster tropes with eroticism, creating a neo-noir thriller that pushes the boundaries of 1960s Japanese New Wave cinema. Miki Watari (Rankô), embodies Mina, the girlfriend of the antagonist Kô and a treacherous prostitute who lures the protagonist Sho into a trap through a charged hotel encounter, refusing to let him disarm even during intimacy. Mari Nagisa (Modern Female Ninja: Flesh Hell) portrays Rie, the protagonist Sho's girlfriend who was sexual assaulted and murdered five years prior by the villain Kô, appearing in haunting flashbacks and hallucinatory sequences that underscore themes of trauma, vengeance, and cyclical violence, with her performance adding emotional weight to Sho's fractured psyche amid the film's surreal wasteland imagery. The plot fractures into dreamlike sequences, looping timelines, and symbolic motifs - like recurring flies, telephones, and clocks - that blur reality and fantasy. Ultimately, the story reveals layers of deception, with Sho's obsession leading him into a cycle of violence and erotic fixation, questioning whether events are objective or manifestations of his fractured psyche. At its core, the film examines masculinity and the intertwining of sex and violence as primal drives. Sho embodies the archetypal macho anti-hero, his guns serving as phallic symbols of power - most evident in a hotel sex scene with Mina where he refuses to relinquish his pistols, monologuing about his lethal prowess in a parody of male bravado. Voyeurism permeates the narrative, from the meta-film-within-a-film that forces characters (and the audience) to confront obscured acts of violation, to warehouses filled with sex dolls modeled after Sae. Themes of obsession and delusion dominate, portraying vengeance not as heroic justice but as an impotent, ego-driven fantasy that fragments identity and reality. Emerging during the height of Japan's pink film boom in the 1960s, Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands reflects the genre's origins as a renegade alternative to studio fare. Pinku eiga offered directors like Yamatoya (screenwriter for Branded to Kill, Stray Cat Rock: Sex Hunter, Dogra Magra, Star of David: Beautiful Girl Hunter, A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness) artistic liberty in exchange for mandatory sexual content, allowing experimentation amid low budgets and quick production schedules - often shot in days. While its lurid content challenges modern viewers, Inflatable Sex Doll of the Wastelands remains a testament to cinema's fringes, deserving exploration for its bold deconstruction of masculinity and genre tropes. While not flawless due to inherent limitations, the Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray excels in reviving Yamatoya's surreal blend of eroticism, violence, and experimental style for modern audiences, earning high marks for its a/v fidelity and supplementary materials, making it an essential pickup for fans of Japanese New Wave, exploitation films, or obscure cinematic oddities - highly recommended for those seeking something wildly unconventional.

Gary Tooze