Italo-Crime Collection: The Counsellor/Blazing Magnum/Weapons of Death – Kino Lorber (4K UHD)
Theatrical Release Dates: Italy/Spain/USA, 1973 (The Counsellor), Italy/Canada/Panama, 1976 (Blazing Magnum), Italy, 1977 (Weapons of Death)
Directors: Alberto De Martino (The Counsellor, Blazing Magnum), Mario Caiano (Weapons of Death)
Cast: Tomas Milian, Martin Balsam, Francisco Rabal, Dagmar Lassander, John Anderson, Nello Pazzafini, Perla Cristal, Carlo Tamberlani, Manuel Zarzo (The Counsellor), Stuart Whitman, John Saxon, Martin Landau, Tisa Farrow, Carole Laure, Jean LeClerc, Gayle Hunnicutt (Blazing Magnum), Leonard Mann, Ida Galli, Henry Silva, Jeff Blynn, Massimo Deda, Adolfo Lastretti, Kirsten Gille, Massimo Vanni, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua (Weapons of Death)
Release Date: September 22nd, 2026
Approximate Running Times: 100 Minutes 51 Seconds (The Counsellor), 99 Minutes 37 Seconds (Blazing Magnum), 90 Minutes 37 Seconds (Weapons of Death)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 (The Counsellor), 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 (Blazing Magnum, Weapons of Death)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian (All Films), DTS-HD Mono English (All Films)
Subtitles: English (All Films), English SDH (All Films)
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $79.95
"This three-film collection includes three action-packed Italo-Crime classics. The Counsellor (1973) – Martin Balsam (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) and Tomás Milián (The Big Gundown) blast the opposition in this crime saga from director Alberto De Martino (The Antichrist). When the godson (Milián) of the San Francisco syndicate boss (Balsam) asks permission to leave “the business,” Don Antonio agrees, but reluctantly. Such behavior by either man violates “the code,” and triggers a bloody mob war with underboss Garofalo (Francisco Rabal, Sorcerer). Blazing Magnum (1976) – When his sister is poisoned at a party, hardened Canadian cop Tony Saitta (Stuart Whitman, Sands of the Kalahari) embarks on a violent investigation that turns into a shocking whirlpool of revenge and betrayal. Featuring one of the decade’s greatest car chases and an arsenal of plot twists, this blend of fast-paced action film and tough police procedural from director Alberto De Martino. Weapons of Death (1977) – Leonard Mann’s (Cut and Run) hard-bitten cop goes up against Henry Silva’s (The Boss) flamboyant death-dealer in this blazing Italo-Crime gem. The action-packed thriller plunges the viewer into a Neapolitan cesspool of crime, as dogged Inspector Belli (Mann) and his task force fight against kingpin Salvatore Santoro (Silva), a stony-faced maniac who orchestrates a string of brutal robberies and insane car chases and massacres any cop, gangster or innocent bystander who gets in his way. Directed by Mario Caiano (Violent Milan) as a spin-off to Umberto Lenzi’s aptly titled Violent Naples." - synopsis provided by the distributor
Video: 4.25/5 (The Counsellor), 4/5 (Blazing Magnum), 3/5 (Weapons of Death)
Here’s the information provided about this release's transfers, “Brand New UHD SDR Master—From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative."
The Counsellor comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.
Disc Size: 59.6 GB
Feature: 58.5 GB
Blazing Magnum and Weapons of Death come on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.
Disc Size: 92.7 GB
Feature: 45.5 GB (Blazing Magnum), 41.5 GB (Weapons of Death)
These three transfers have a lot in common; when it comes to their colors, they are inconsistent, with The Counsellor faring best of the three. While image clarity is generally strong, there are many times where the image looks too soft. That said, black levels and contrast fare well.
Shadows in an Empty Room comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.
Disc Size: 35.7 GB
Feature: 19.4 GB
Audio: 4.25/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian - Weapons of Death, DTS-HD Mono English - Weapons of Death), 4/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian - The Counsellor, DTS-HD Mono English - The Counsellor, DTS-HD Mono English - Blazing Magnum), 3.75/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian - Blazing Magnum)
Each film comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian and a DTS-HD mono mix in English. Both of Weapons of Death's tracks sound clean, clear, balanced, and robust when they should. Blazing Magnum’s English-language track sounds noticeably more robust than its Italian-language track. The Counsellor's two tracks sound comparable. That said, the dialogue comes through clearly and everything sounds balanced on all audio tracks. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian-language track and removable English SDH for the English-language track.
Extras:
Extras on the 4K UHD disc with The Counsellor include an audio commentary with film historians Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth.
Extras on the 4K UHD disc with Blazing Magnum and Weapons of Death include an audio commentary with Steve Mitchell and Troy Howarth for Blazing Magnum and an audio commentary with Steve Mitchell, Nathaniel Thompson, and Troy Howarth for Weapons of Death.
Extras on a Blu-ray disc include a theatrical trailer for The Counsellor (4 minutes 13 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Blazing Magnum (3 minutes 32 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer for Weapons of Death (3 minutes 30 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), Weapons of Death’s opening and closing English-language titles (3 minutes 9 seconds, DTS-HD mono), a video essay by William Webb for The Counsellor (6 minutes 17 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview for Blazing Magnum with film historian Kim Newman titled City Hunter (22 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio interview for Blazing Magnum with director Alberto De Martino titled Special Sentiments (13 minutes 4 seconds, LPCM stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), a video essay by William Webb for Weapons of Death (5 minutes 25 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with actor Leonard Mann titled Weapons of Death: Napoli Spara! Revisited (17 minutes 48 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director Mario Caiano titled Weapons of Death: Naples Under Fire (15 minutes 10 seconds, DTS-HD stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), and Shadows in an Empty Room, an alternate cut of Blazing Magnum released by American International Pictures (99 minutes 29 seconds, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, DTS-HD mono English with removable English SDH).
Other extras on the Blu-ray disc include trailers for The Taking of Pelham, One, Two, Three, Sands of the Kalahari, Assassination, and Violent City.
Other extras include a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).
Summary:
The Counsellor: Alberto De Martino directed The Counsellor. He’s a workman-like director whose films have no connecting element that links them. Notable films he’s directed are The Blancheville Monster, Django Shoots First, Bandits in Rome, The Killer Is on the Phone, and The Antichrist.
1970s Italian crime cinema primarily falls into two categories: films that were inspired by Dirty Harry and Death Wish and films that were inspired by The Godfather. The Counsellor falls into the latter category. Although most 1970s Italian crime films take place in Italy, many of the Italian crime films that are mafia-orientated take place in American locations. This is the case with The Counsellor; the bulk of the film takes place in San Francisco or New Mexico, while the finale takes place in Sicily.
The narrative revolves around a mafia don who inadvertently starts a war when he breaks the rules and lets his nephew walk away from the family. The Don’s inner circle view his letting the nephew walk away from the family business as a weakness, and they take the opportunity to take him out. When the Don survives an assassination attempt, things escalate into a full-on war between the Don and those who want to usurp him.
Recognizable faces stand out when watching Italian genre films from the 1960s and 1970s. Each genre had its set of actors who excelled in their respective fields. Tomas Milian (The Tough Ones) and Martin Balsam (Confessions of a Police Captain) are two names that are synonymous with Poliziotteschi cinema. They have been cast in the roles of Thomas Accardo, the nephew of the Don, and Don Antonio Macaluso. Both actors are given ample material to work with, as they tend to dominate every moment they are in. Another performance of note is Francisco Rabal (Viridiana) in the role of Vincent Garofalo, the man who wants to replace Don Antonio Macaluso.
While the narrative takes its time to establish who everyone is and what their motivations are, things really start to move when the killings start. There are two exemplary action sequences; the first one is a bloodbath shootout between Don Antonio Macaluso’s men and Vincent Garofalo’s men at a warehouse, while the other is a fantastic ending where Don Antonio Macaluso and his men use a parade to ambush Vincent Garofalo. Ultimately, The Counsellor takes familiar elements and makes them their own, creating a highly entertaining crime film that fans of Poliziotteschi cinema should thoroughly enjoy.
Blazing Magnum: Alberto De Martino directed Blazing Magnum. He’s a workman-like director whose films have no connecting element that links them. Notable films he’s directed are The Blancheville Monster, Django Shoots First, Bandits in Rome, The Killer Is on the Phone, The Counsellor, and The Antichrist.
The narrative revolves around an out-of-town and out-of-jurisdiction police captain who takes on a no-holds-barred approach to uncovering the identity of the person responsible for his sister’s death.
Blazing Magnum (Shadows in an Empty Room) is equal parts thriller and police procedural. Blazing Magnum (Shadows in an Empty Room) is a rare example of an Italian film that is devoid of things that have become synonymous with Italian genre cinema. Locations have always played a factor in Italian-style cinema, and in the case of Blazing Magnum (Shadows in an Empty Room), it was shot in Canada, a place that was never a prime location for Italian-made police procedurals or thrillers.
While Blazing Magnum (Shadows in an Empty Room) is a film that balances between two genres, it never fully commits to one. Blazing Magnum's (Shadows in an Empty Room's) thriller aspects have an air of familiarity when it comes to the depiction of the killer. The same cannot be said for police procedural moments, which come off as tame compared to other similar Italian-themed films. Nowhere is more evident than the protagonist, Captain Tony Saitta, a sanitized version of its Italian counterparts from the poliziotteschi genre.
Oddly enough, Blazing Magnum (Shadows in an Empty Room) excels during its most absurd moments. And without a doubt, there is no scene that fits this bill, except a scene where Saitta’s investigations lead him to an apartment where three transvestites live. And before he can get a word in, a trio of transvestites comes at him with murderous intentions. Another standout moment is an obligatory car chase, which magnifies this type of scene well beyond the reality of the situation.
Performance-wise, the cast ranges from adequate to good in their respective roles. The only performance that leaves any lasting impression is Stuart Whitman (Welcome to Arrow Beach) in the role of Captain Tony Saitta. He delivers a B-movie version of the type of character Charles Bronson portrays in the Death Wish films. Other cast members of note include Martin Landau (North By Northwest), John Saxon (Tenebrae), Gayle Hunnicutt (The Legend of Hell House), Carole Laure (Sweet Movie) in the role of Louise Saitta, and Tisa Farrow (Some Call It Loving) as Julie Foster, a blind girl who holds the key to the killer's identity. Ultimately, Blazing Magnum (Shadows in an Empty Room) is an entertaining mix of the Poliziotteschi and giallo genres that fans of Italian genre cinema are sure to enjoy.
Weapons of Death: Mario Caiano directed Weapons of Death. Notable films he’s directed include Bullets Don’t Argue, Nightmare Castle, Eye in the Labyrinth, Calling All Police Cars, and Violent Milan.
An out-of-control gangster tries to evade a police commissioner determined to bring him to justice and his underworld rivals who have turned against him.
Weapons of Death was made in the latter half of the 1970s when the Poliziotteschi started to lean heavily into violence and more exploitative elements. The premise revolves around a familiar scenario where criminals exploit the system, leaving law enforcement powerless. While many poliziotteschi feature cops who defy the system and take extreme measures to bring down criminals, the law enforcement officers in Weapons of Death rarely cross that line.
The narrative finds a satisfying balance between the criminals and the law enforcement. While it is light on exposition, it is never detrimental to the story that unfolds. Weapons of Death is an action-first film that has a lot of shooting and a high body, and it features one of Poliziotteschi's most original chase scenes, a little boy in a stolen race car. In Weapons of Death's most graphic moment, a scene shows a pedophile in prison having his genitals cut off by another inmate.
The area that I found most lacking was the performances, especially Leonard Mann (Death Steps in the Dark), who portrays police commissioner Belli and Jeff Blynn (a Maurizio Merli), who portrays an undercover cop posing as a taxi driver. The standout performance is Henry Silva (Cry of a Prostitute) in the role of Santoro, an out-of-control gangster who leaves a trail of destruction and death wherever he goes. Ida Galli (A White Dress for Marialé) is another cast member of note, as she portrays the only female character that receives any significant screentime.
Outside of Henry Silva’s scene-stealing performance, there are not many areas that standout. The narrative is effective at creating tense moments and building momentum to its justice-served finale. Francesco De Masi (The New York Ripper) delivers a strong score that reinforces the mood. Ultimately, Weapons of Death is a fairly routine Poliziotteschi that fortunately never overstays its welcome.
While audio tracks sound great and there is a wealth of extra content, the transfers for Kino Lorber’s Italo-Crime Collection are a mixed bag, making this a disappointing release.
Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.
Written by Michael Den Boer
