Ah nice one, I'm still waiting! :O(

Ah just received mine also! :O)

I got my set a couple of days ago, and have watched the majority of discs 1 & 3. So far so good. Disc 1 has a live show, with explanations of the effects. The bonus interviews are solid, with some great stories and advice. My one gripe with the interview is that the cutting between wide shots and close-ups is far too frequent, and gets distracting.

The live show is good, but not the best I've seen from Dave. I think it may have to do with the fact that he's performing for an audience for whom English isn't their primary language, so he wasn't totally off-the-wall.

All of the material and quality of teaching so far is excellent. For those who have watched Dave's massive 4+ hour Penguin lecture, there is some overlap of material, but the DVDs also contain plenty that are not

I do also have Williamson's Wonders and Magic Farm (but not the Sleight of Dave DVDs). I find the book, the older DVDs, the new lecture, and Ridiculous to all be of value. It's interesting to see how the routines have changed and evolved over the years, and what's stayed the same.

I've not finished the set yet, I'd say I've only watched maybe about 35-40% of it. But I'm definitely happy with my purchase and would highly recommend the set to those who don't own any of David's other releases. I would also recommend it to those who do have his other releases, unless you are purely seeking entirely new tricks and methods.

Kevin

I was waiting for Kevin to write his review. I have only watched a bit of it so far. I am a Williamson fanboy so I am de facto happy with my purchase. However, for some of the other EMC projects there is really no other place (in English) to see or learn from these amazing magicians so the DVDs seem like real treasure. With Williamson his other 3 DVDs, book and Penguin lecture are really quite good so the added value here may not be as much. The language barrier(and what he said somewhere was a performance after a long flight) may have indeed softened the impact of the live show.

How in depth does he go with the needles?

You get a live performance of the needles. The actual teaching part is probably about 7-10 minutes tops. Definitely enough to learn the technique, what kind of materials you need, etc. But all of the presentation and showmanship will mostly be up to you.

Into the mouth .

A great set of DVDs - super entertaining. I have all of David's prior releases. It's amazing how stable his material is after decades. I guess that once an effect is polished, it's polished. From an instructional viewpoint this is not for newbies. He covers some hard core sleights, offering interesting insights on difficult moves. In some cases I would have loved more detail. For example, his coverage of a timing force was pretty brief. But with Williamson, it's hard not to be greedy. He's brilliant. Which I could go to Magi-Fest to see him live.

I just received this as well. I have only gone through DVDs one and two. I'm a big fan of everything he does, but I agree that the performance didn't appear to be his best. Having said that, it's good to see just how a real "pro" handles foreign audiences. I think the way he performed was probably BEST for that audience. He toned things down a bit to not lose some of them with the language barrier. You also really get a good look at how to perform for different audiences. He did some things to make sure he was connecting with an audience of limited English. So, I think that when viewed in context, it was a pretty good performance to watch. IMO, his explanations, while very short in some cases (like the needles in mouth), covered everything you would need to know. It is clear he has done these routines many times and has the ability to hone in on the essentials needed to "get the job done" most effectively.

I'm really curious where he developed his acting skills. If he covers this on the DVD set, I haven't gotten to that yet. Is this natural or did he learn and develop it? He has a way of conveying emotions in a very entertaining and convincing way. I know he studied several role actors who would do a play night after night and convince an audience that a "blooper" was totally spontaneous and genuine, even though it happened every single performance, night after night.

I look forward to the next two DVDs.

KJ

OK, made it through DVD #3. There is so much material on each DVD, it is great! The thing that I like most about his routines is the way he has thought out an entertaining story or way of presenting it. As I watch him present a routine, it triggers thoughts of other entertaining ways of presenting a similar effect. In one effect, he starts by asking the participant "Are you feeling ok? No headaches? Ever get strange thoughts creep into your brain? Your mental health ok then? I'll be the judge of that. Doctors have their EKGs and sonograms. None of that is necessary. I have my deck of cards. You shuffle the deck. OK, this deck of cards now represents the condition of your brain..." He goes on to do a card routine that is not only very magical, but very entertaining. The amazing thing is he sets up the deck as he is doing the routine and the participant is none the wiser.
KJ

OK, made it through all four! Excellent!

Sure is.

Has anyone found the section on the striking vanish or the vanishing knife on this set? Thanks

Isn't it on disk 4?

I've not got that far yet, I need a free day to sit down and watch these, can't see it happening for a while!

David used to perform Jim Steinmeyer's 'Needles' from 'Device and Illusion'. Is that what he teaches on this set?