The Counsellor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

The Counsellor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 14, 2026

Alberto De Martino's "The Counsellor" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth; new video essay by critic William Webb; and vintage international trailer. In English or Italian, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Most seasoned connoisseurs of Italian genre films agree that Alberto De Martino’s best work is in two films that are finally available on Blu-ray in America: Blazing Magnum, a.k.a. Shadows in an Empty Room, and The Counsellor. This is not a difficult statement to defend because both feature legitimate American A-listers performing as if they are in proper big-budget Hollywood productions.

The trouble with this statement is that it boxes De Martino in a way that forces one to mischaracterize his work, as well as what made many of his films worth seeing.

During the 1960s and 1970s, De Martino became one of Italy's most reliable and talented copycat directors. For example, the success of De Martino’s western Django Shoots First, a rushed but very enjoyable copycat of Sergio Corbucci's iconic film, inspired numerous other Italian and international directors to direct new copycats. De Martino then directed Dirty Heroes, another rushed but very well-made copycat of Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen. Unquestionably the best of the three films about Dick Malloy, a.k.a. Agent 077, James Bond’s brother from another mother, Special Mission Lady Chaplin, is in De Martino’s oeuvre, too. De Martino also directed Bandits in Rome with John Cassavetes, another gem, modeled after Carlo Lizzani’s The Violent Four, one of the best Italian crime films of the 1960s.

A description of De Martino’s best work should also include at least one of these copycats, which he did very efficiently and very well. After all, the high quality of De Martino’s imitation work is what earned him his reputation in Italy and abroad.

While based on an original screenplay, The Counsellor also borrows from various classic gangster films, most notably The Godfather. However, the borrowed material is rather generic and rearranged in ways that make tracing its origins largely meaningless.

After spending two years in prison in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Thomas Accardo (Tomas Milian) is freed and, moments later, enthusiastically greeted by his godfather, Don Antonio Macaluso (Martin Balsam), San Francisco’s most powerful crime boss. However, the warm reunion quickly devolves into a tense argument when Accardo declares he intends to walk away from The Organization and live like an ordinary man with his beautiful, non-Italian girlfriend (Dagmar Lassander).

When news of Accardo’s decision to walk away from The Organization reaches other crime bosses on the West Coast, Vincent Garofalo (Francisco Rabal), a veteran capo, launches an ambitious power play. Assisted by several other mafiosi, Garofalo attempts to take out Accardo, whom even Don Macaluso’s most loyal partners agree is set to become a major liability, and then collapse Don Macaluso’s clan and take over its business and administrative positions in The Organization. An all-out gang war erupts, and Accardo, feeling responsible, returns to help Don Macaluso, as he is forced to retreat and seek a haven among old friends in Sicily.

The strength of The Counsellor is in its quasi-documentary depiction of the drama inside The Organization and Don Macaluso’s struggle to protect what he has built his entire life. It is what makes The Counsellor look unique, too. In the 1970s, this style of filming was far more common for the poliziotteschi, which quickly began abusing it while regularly evolving into hyperviolent button-pushers.

Milian looks particularly good as the conflicted, loyal godson who cannot escape his roots. It would not be an exaggeration to declare that The Counsellor has preserved one of his most convincing character transformations.

A sensational soundtrack by the great maestro Riz Ortolani infuses The Counsellor with perfect, very easy-to-recall harmonies.

The Counsellor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Counsellor arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release presents a recent 4K restoration of The Counsellor, prepared on behalf of StudioCanal.The 4K restoration will also be made available on 4K Blu-ray in this combo pack release a week from now.

The 4K restoration is very problematic. While it produces stable, healthy visuals, it replaces the film's native period appearance with a new, very cool, often quite distracting, contemporary appearance. The change is introduced by tealing, very similar and in certain places identical to the one that compromised the recent 4K restorations of Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Point Blank. Primary blue and blue nuances are destabilized the most. However, there are entire ranges of other nuances that are lost, which is why the warm and natural original period appearance of the film is effectively replaced. This is most frustrating because there are no traces of any other problematic digital corrections, and the density levels of all visuals remain very impressive. The entire film looks very healthy, too. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Counsellor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English (for the Italian track) and English SDH (for the English track) subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

In the past, I have viewed The Counsellor with both tracks. However, the English track is preferable because all actor deliver their lines in English. Both tracks can be pretty uneven at times, and dynamic intensity, even during the busiest action footage, is not impressive. However, dynamic intensity is not underwhelming either. It is just easy to tell that the original soundtrack was finalized, some limitations, especially from outdoor footage, were retained.

The Counsellor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth.

• In Consigliori: Tradition vs. Modernity - this exclusive new essay was created by critic William Webb. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Counsellor. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for The Counsellor.

The Counsellor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

During the 1960s and 1970s, Alberto De Martino became one of Italy's most reliable and talented copycat directors. Django, James Bond, The Godfather, The Exorcist — no big cinematic character was off-limits for De Martino. The Counsellor is based on an original screenplay and preserves one of Tomas Milian's most convincing character transformations. Unfortunately, the new 4K restoration of it featured on this release, prepared on behalf of StudioCanal, is unconvincing.