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

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (April 2023): Kino have transferred William Wyler's Counsellor at Law to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "Brand New 2K Master". There was an early DVD that was in rather poor condition and this 1080P is a significant improvement. There are rounded corners visible and a few surface scratches but contrast is a leap beyond SD. There are some less even textures notable but overall I would say this HD presentation is a success for this long-admired film.  

NOTE: We have added 30 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Counsellor at Law has no aggressive moments to challenge the lossless transfer. The score was by Giuseppe Becce (The Kaiser of California, Tartuffe, The Last Laugh, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)  sounding clean with the dialogue being authentically hollow as per the production era. Kino offer optional English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray offers a new commentary by film historian / filmmaker Daniel Kremer and Catherine Wyler, the daughter of director William Wyler. She relates that John Barrymore was difficult during production - a drinking problem and not remembering lines (twenty-seven takes to complete one brief scene.) They briefly discuss writer Elmer Rice and some of the cast; Isabel Jewell, Bebe Daniels, Doris Kenyon, Melvyn Douglas, Thelma Todd but not a lot. Wyler's use of Dolly shots, shallow depth of field, multiple takes etc. They discuss Wyler's relationship with producer Carl Laemmle. I wish there was more about the rich characters and the production but the commentary morphs into an interview with daughter Catherine relating stories about her father, Jewish identity, her participation in the Aviva Slesin 1986 documentary Directed by William Wyler where she interviewed her father before his passing. There are also a handful of trailers but none for Counsellor at Law.

William Wyler's first prestigious project Counsellor at Law is a fabulous melodrama about the pratfalls of the legal profession with themes of love, infidelity, morality, sacrifice... dancing around touches of chaotic humor, lustful playfulness in a screwball-genre hectic pacing. It's wonderfully entertaining and so efficiently expressed. There are a number of less fleshed-out subplots and odd behaviors that add to Counsellor at Law's charisma. It's brilliant. I am so happy that Kino released this on Blu-ray and it was such a pleasure seeing this gem again. The commentary, although dealing more with the director (and then Barrymore) than the film, still has value and we very strongly recommend a revisitation of this film - now in the vastly improved 1080P.

Gary Tooze