Dai Vernons Revelations series and Daryls encyclopedia of card sleights are 2 sets of dvds that really helped me out. Theres a lot of info on those, and in all they total 16 so that's a little more then you asked for but those are the ones that really changed the way I do things.

"The Unreal Work" - Jason England and Paul Wilson
"Card Work, Card Play" - companion video - Kostya Kimlat
Lennart Green's series of DVD's

10????!!!! That's gonna cost my wife a fortune!!



Not sure whether I fall into that criticism but if so, apologies for digressing. It certainly was no intention of mine to 'elevate' myself to some superior intellectual level. I'm already there for goodness sake!

Seriously though, we do tend to go off at a tangent and probaly miss the original point being made. I've done it loads of times on TMC! I liken it to loads of us sitting around a table in a REAL Magic Café where, whether you like it or not, an original topic will inevitably move from one aspect to another and probably back again.

Doh - I've done it again! Back to the original point....
1. The Magic Farm - Williamson
2. On the Loose Vol 2 - Malone
3. ETMCM Vol 2 - Ammar
4. Madness behind the Method - Lovell
5. The Lost Works Set - Hamman

There, I feel better now. I'm off to cut'n'paste my earlier post and move it to the Books V DVD debate!

Roger

Peo - Don't go mate - Your posts are always a pleasure to read! Get back in here!

Hey Roger,
Good point. I supose I didn't think about what would happen if we were in a real-life magic Café sitting around drinking our coffee (just a cold drink for me please) and discussing magic. You are indeed correct that the conversation would go here there and everywhere because there is so much to say. Thank you for pointing that out to me and helping me see that it is not always bad necessarily to share our thoughts that were "sparked" from the original topic.
Dann

Dann

1.ETMCM Vol1-6
2.Stars of Magic-Paul Harris Vol1-5.This one stick untill his new DVDs come out.
3.Visions of Wonder Vol1-3
4.On the Loose-Vol1-4
5.Richard Osterlind's Mind Mysteries Vol1-4

Also,I have to mention Dai Vernon's Revelations series,Secret Sessions and all the rest of the Easy to Master(Ammar).
Andre

I learned everything I know about magic (admittedly, not a lot) from books as a kid, paticularly "Royal Road to Card Magic," "Expert at the Card Table," and "The AAmateur Magician's Handbook." After a lomg hiautus, I've taken up magic again, and I'm working (very slowly) through Giobbi's Card College. That said, I did just order Dary's Ambitiouis Card DVD, and his Encyclopedia of Card Slights is very tempting, too.

Correction to above: I meant "Expert Card Technique." "Expert at the Card Table" was (and to some degree still is) beyond my reach.

I'd say anything from Ellusionist. Don't say I'm stupid and I know nothing before you actually buy one of the DVDs. Brad is one of the best teachers I have ever watched, and the C2: Ambitious Card DVD really made the ACR my main Routine in my magic. Other then that, I'd say the Green Magic Series from Lennart Green. Green is one of my favorite magicians.

DVD's are for super losers, and so are books and videos!
In my day we used our imaginations to come up with our own tricks while blasting out Foreigner on the eight-track.
Our magic rocked hard, but wasn't very entertaining.
Most of us went on to different careers, some learned to read and even watched a little TV. We battled with alcohol and drugs, and those of us who made it through those heady days still feel we were right about how you should do magic.
No books, no dvds, no videos.



A.

Under The Radar by Steve Reynolds is one of the best I have seen. A lot of really cool workable material.


Trini

Johnny Thompson Commercial Classics
Johnny Ace Palmer

So, the thousands of us that, for varied reasons, cannot devise our own effects but still entertain folk and line the pockets of the originators at the same time are doing something wrong? Losers? I don't think so! With respect, I think you represent a very small minority - but must be one heck of a magician - Lets see some!

RK

Ok, loser may be too strong a word, and I take it back.
All I meant was that I grew up with guys who would rather spend their hard earned cash on ecdysiasts and 'rainy day woman' than the latest stuff. We didn't buy magic, we lived it.
I'll give you an example. One day - many years ago - I was talking about a book test down in my friend Crow's basement. Well he looks over at me and he says "you know what would be really cool, if that book turned into a moth and booked out the window."
I paused for a second to take it all in, and when I looked back at Crow, he was already ordering pizza. He didn't need to work out the ideas, the creative process was an end in itself!
Crow didn't even know how to hold a deck of cards, never learned to read, but his magic rocked just the same. Think about it, a moth!



A.

Oh I see. your talking about hallucinations not magic. Ok that makes a little more sense

No, don't get me started on hallucinations.
Hallucinations are out of your control, and though they may be inspirational, you'd have to remember to write them down, and Crow never learned to read, let alone write!

I'm talking about being in the moment and extemporalizing - jazzing about ideas with little or no preconceptions.

Here's another example. I was talking about an ambitious card routine with Bag, and Crow says "wouldn't it be sumtin' if I took my knife to that volley ball, and when I cut it open, out came a moth, or sumtin'?"
You gotta remember, Crow was deathly afraid of moths.

Now isn't this vaguely familiar? Isn't it the precursor to Blaine's card in basketball?

Crow used to also go on and on about how he's like to spend a weekend in an igloo with a bag of weed and some Eskimo's wife. You see where this is going?

Ok, this isn't everyone's cup-o-tea, but Copperfield does it sort of like this, right? He comes up with a killer idea and farms it out for some other dude to make.
Crow was too much a Luddite, or maybe too much a stoner to get it together to make the gaffs himself, but his magic rocked and I miss him dearly.



A.

Crow never understood addition or metaphor or most of English's idiomatic expressions, but I think he would have thought it cool that someone could take it to the next level.




A. Druids rule!

ALEWISHES ? (strange !)
You obviously haven't seen any Patrick Page stuff !
Kenny.

Lets get back to topic...unless no one else has some opinions.

How is "On the Pass" With Rich Kaufman? I heard good stuff bout it.

It is pretty good. If you really want to focus on the pass it is a very good DVD to own.

My favorite magic dvd is Born to Perform by OZ Pearlman.