Cfrancis,

You're absolutely right. There is undoubtedly much more to learn from a show with rough edges than a perfect one. Perhaps some of the rough edges were intentional in order to illustrate points made in the ****ysis. (Still haven't watched the rest of the set yet, so I'm not sure.)

And I also agree that the material is first-class. These are some of the classics of mentalism, relatively unadorned with all the so-called "improvements" that are constantly thrown out there as the Next Big Variation. And what's heartening about the show is that, as promised, it really proves how an entire show featuring some of the most audience-tested mentalism material can be performed without proprietary gimmicks.

--Josh

EDIT: I can't believe that the word above got asterisked! It was "ana lysis" (without the space, obviously).

The problems/issues that arose and how they were handled are exactly why I enjoy this set. There is a term in Japanese that perfectly describes this, Wabi-sabi.

Just my thoughts.

Tony

I would love to see Speilberg shoot a movie with nothing but an 8 mm camera! What a great challenge. What's the saying: Necessity breeds invention, or something like that. Why do it? I don't know. Ask Max. I think he just wanted to set himself up with a challenge. It doesn't really matter, though as there are many great mentalism effects one can perform with no gimmicks whatsoever. Actually, when I read about the theme of the act, I tought, "Okay. But so what? There's a ton of stuff you can do using little to no props..." Richard Osterlind's act on the first volume of Mind Mysteries could conceivably be put together for under $10. Just use a legal pad for the Q and A.

The interesting thing about the project is that Max never really makes a huge deal about the premise. It's there strictly as a guideline but it doesn't seem to inhibit the material at all. All of the effects he performs are basically variations on classics which don't need a bunch of expensive props to being with.

I didn't purchase this set for the "nothing" aspect. I purchased it because of Max Maven's reputation.

At the end of the show, I thought, "I wish there was a commentary track with *audience members*...some of whom would be people who'd seen a lot of magic shows, some who'd seen few to none." I don't know if that's ever been done on a magic video.

--Josh

Does anyone know who "Brandon Combs" is? He is one of the panelists for the explanatory portion.

Bennett

Dunno, but he doesn't say much does he? In fact none of the panel do. Gene Matsuura doesn't say a single thing - I think I actually heard him snoring at one point!

C'mon guys, this was a pretty weak offering. I couldn't decide if it was the material that lacked punch or Max as a performer. To echo what Josho said earlier - there WAS lots of audience fidgeting. The amount of dead time in Max's show just wouldn't cut it for the average corporate banquet audience.

Max himself says at one point that mentalists have a reputation for being boring and I don't think this DVD set will help change that.

And I really don't get repeating the entire show once with and once without the bag routine. I think that was a bit of a ruse to stretch the product to two disks, don't you?

Finally, my dear Tony, I'm sorry, but your using the term "wabi-sabi" to describe this very average DVD made me laugh almost as much the moment when Max is desperately struggling to keep his psychometry routine from going down the pan and after removing a Chap Stick from one of the envelopes announces: "this person might have a generic affiliation with Chap Stick!"

Priceless!

Sorry for a negative opinion of this dvd set, but surely there is room for all opinions here.

In order not to be completely negative, I will say that I appreciate the effort to produce more than just a show-and-tell type DVD. While I may disagree on some of his theories on performing, I do agree there is value in this type of an-al-ysis (I love the Café automated censorship!).

Best,
James

I personally think that this DVD set had a great concept, what could you do if as someone mentioned above your luggage went missing, unfortunately I don't think it delivered, it looked like a show that was last minute and muddled, ultimately you'd expect something stronger from Mr Maven for the simple reason he has such a wealth of knowledge.

I think Max is a very good mentalist but this offering just didn't deliver. I think a sensible solution to the lost luggage problem would be to put a tossed out deck, switch pad, esp deck, NW, TT and a few envelopes into your hand luggage as well as your material for your show in your checked in luggage.

Jeff McBride has an act in a pilots case that he has with him for any such ocassion..

Potential problem solved...

A.R.

I am confused. When I saw the advertisment of this DVD the blurb explained what this DVD set will be like. So, if you didn't like the idea of someone performing an act directly from a supermarket and not from a magic shop, then why you bought it? Sure all the opinions are important here but I don't really get it. Its like buying a DVD about TT and then say "well, he shouldn't use a TT because I hate TT's".
I found great value on this DVD set.
Titanas

"I think that was a bit of a ruse to stretch the product to two disks, don't you?"

You are probably correct about that James. But if so that is likely L&L's bad, not
Max's.

I liked the offering overall. But I didn't like the panel. It actually made me uncomfortable watching all these people sitting around with pretty much nothing to say. I do always enjoy Eugene's oohs and aaahs. And the somewhat sadistic video joke on Eugene at the beginning of the panel was quite funny.

I had a thought as to who Brandon Combs is:

No One?

Bennett

To each his/her own. I found value in the material.

The Easter egg is being not very good for childrens. I am thinking his saying swear words and things to be controversial in the magic community isn't being funny.

I am thinking he is maybe trying to be controversial to be more talked about.

For people who is not knowing what I am talking about Phil is saying the word f**k to one of the L&L owning men and saying he is the first man to use the word on an L&L dvd.

This is detracting from the quality of L&L products and Phil. I would be hopeing better things form someone who is saying and acting as though he is being intellectual.

That is the point- he is acting not being.

Didn't like the DVD set - the problem wasn;t in the premise or the props used but in the

delivery of the effects
The presenation (or lack of)
The dead time
The super long explanations which really didn't need to be super long

why does it take 10 minutes to say he has a gimiked die- for crying out loud.

Lots of hype for a DVD worth Nothing

You should be doing a dvd for your own with great gags like that. Ha ha.

The easter eggs contained on the DVD amused me at least; two on the first disk - one with Max congratulating you on finding the easter egg, then going on to say that it isn't the actual easter egg, and that you need to keep looking (okay, maybe not brilliant, but I laughed a bit). The other bit on the first disk is Max talking to Louis Falanga about whether or not anyone has ever said **** on an L&L DVD, then concluding that this is a first for L&L DVDs.

On the second disc, the easter egg is an interesting segment with Max explaining the pronunciation and origin of the word "equivoque". These sections may not be earth-shattering, but they are humorous nonetheless (and it was intriguing to learn a bit about the etymology of equivoque).

Oh, and not to mention the brilliant chastisement from Max when you click on the "Quick and Easy Explanations" section on the second disc!

Brilliant???

You must have a low threshold of brilliance.

There is room for the quick and easy explanations - Fake die, marked envelopes etc the history is boring to an actual worker who doesn't have the time to sit down and wait ten minutes to hear that it is in fact marked envelopes.

It would have been better in an e-book

I think you might be missing the point here.

(An aside) Three different threads on the same DVD here on the fourm?

What's the point?

Simple.

I suspect that the issue isn't the price tag of the "last minute" props; but the level of both the performance, and the audience management. Those two areas are within the scope of the performer, and to say otherwise is perhaps to ignore what was on the DVD.

Polished? nope, although given the L&L label one could easily expect it.

Professional, yes,it should be...i.e., "volunteer" selection, routining of material etc.

$10.00 will go a long way in Staples, and the 7-11 (if one were around and if one were allowed to use it.)

Again, let's not confuse things here.

The advert said one thing, but the actual delivery, from all appearences, said another thing. That's where the level of dis-satisfaction seems to stem from.