This is a documentary of sorts, which includes information regarding the background of Max Maven and much of his show, "Thinking in Person". I finally had the opportunity to see this. It was incredible.

There can be only one.

Max Maven is an iconoclast (obviously). I highly recommend anyone interested in mentalism to watch this. Simply wonderful.




Sean

Thanks for the info Sean. I guess I've been living under a rock for a while. This is the first that I heard about this.

You can get the dvd by emailing max thru his website.

Thanks for the info, I'm one of his big fans.....

Its a tremendous video!
anyone knows the name of the effects that he perform in this show?

huge effects! thanks

They are his and not published accoding to himself Maven likes to keep his working act for himself at the moment. However similar effects are in print, for example card calling and blindfold routines.

Juha-Matti

Watched this the other day, Did anyone else find Max's personality to be a little arrogant?

Maybe it was just me or the way it was edited but I found myself not liking the way Max was portraying himself or how he was portrayed.

I enjoyed watching him perform however.

Just my thoughts.

Peace & Love

Matt

Any news on the release of his dvd on equivoque ?

Max is the only person that I've met that deserves to be [or appear]to be arrogant!

I think Max himself has chosen to delay or cancel this dvd.On another thread someone mentioned that it was'nt up to L&L anymore.I could be wrong though.

Is it possible his arrogance has kept him from greater success? Max has an intriguing show and has been on TV, but few outside of magic really know who he is.

Yes, Max is arrogant. If you think he's arrogant on the DVD, wait until you meet him in person. I first met him over 20 years ago at a magic meeting. He wasn't lecturing, he just showed up. He didn't want to bother being sociable to anyone, which makes me wonder why he went. The meeting was at night and he wore sunglasses - inside.

Anyway, the DVD is interesting and worth the $20. Most magic dealers carry this.

Ted: It is very easy to confuse a preference for solitude with aloofness. Some performers are very private when off the stage; Sir Alec Guinness was a famous example of this. So I would suggest greater consideration before assigning such unbecoming terms to another performer.

I also find it of more than questionable taste to assign unsavory labels to other performers within a public forum.

I do not pretend to know Max Maven. But I have the utmost respect for him as a performer and as an innovator in our craft. After seeing his one-man show "Thinking In Person," my regard for him has only deepened. Far from appearing arrogant (as Matt suggests), I feel he came across as authoritative -- which is as it should be -- possessing a thorough command of his material, a mastery of performance, an impressive scope of knowledge, and a depth and vulnerability that absolutely charmed me and many others within my theater audience.

Although the "Fabulous Monster" DVD (created for Canadian television) captures only a small portion of "Thinking In Person," it is a respectful and invaluable glimpse of the acclaimed show and of the incredible man behind it. Until the complete performance of "Thinking..." is made available on DVD, "Fabulous Monster" may be the best document of Mr. Maven's performance available. As such, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Best,
Neil

http://www.maxmaven.com/

Latest news:
http://www.maxmaven.com/news.php

Video Trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djaI1zvn0YY

Owe DVD:
http://www.dennymagic.com/cgi-bin/hazel.......m=008709

Neil,

Maybe your interactions with Max have been different than mine. Just because I think he's arrogant, doesn't mean I don't enjoy him as a performer and in fact one thing has nothing to do with the other. I thought Michael Jackson was a weird guy, but it doesn't change how I feel about him as a performer.

The story I shared above is not an isolated incident and know several people who have stated the same thing.

Maybe its just me.

Im an arrognant person sometimes so maybe he was caught on a bad day, or maybe I took his attitude the wrong way.

Who knows?

Max does!!

Peace & Love

Matt

Max has an atitude of superiority which seems to be his character on and off stage. It seems to work for him in some odd way. His website states how many books he reads er month, how bug his brain is, etc.

I just watched this and I don't think Mr. Maven came off as arrogant. Even if he did, one could argue he has a right to be. He's clearly a man of intellect, his persona and presentation are second to none...and someone made a @#$%ing documentary on him fer cryin' out loud!

I enjoyed this film and wish it had gone on longer (It's only about 45 mins). It only seemed to scratch the surface of its subject. The narrator starts off wondering whether Mr. Maven is the real deal or a charlatan. Thankfully, this question does not really become the focus of the documentary. The movie does not reveal any secrets so you can feel free to watch it with family and friends. There is mention of Ted Annemann and Dai Vernon, so if a viewer is truly curious he/she has been given a couple of good starting points to begin research.

The movie does not discuss Mr. Maven's private life too much which is fine by me. I don't feel I have the right to know about the private life of an entertainer any more than than I have a right to know about the private life of my local plumber. The film does feature photos of Mr. Maven as a child which may be startling to those of us who imagine him springing forth from the womb clad in black, widow's peak and all, and uttering his first word on the spot: "Boo." Then again, maybe they just cleaned him up for family photos.

There are interviews with Eugene Burger, Michael Weber and Stephen Minch as well as tanatalizing clips from Mr. Maven's show. The interview clips of Mr. Maven, himself, are the heart of this documentary. You will learn how one of the Marx Brothers, of all people, helped change his life and how his insatiable curiosity literally saved his life.

A hell of a good question has been raised on this thread: Why isn't Max Maven more famous? I see no reason why he hasn't attained as much (or more) notoriety as Kreskin (or Derren Brown in the UK). Once you watch the performance clips, you'll be baffled all the more. Don't be surprised if you're tempted to throw up your hands and say, "I give up! I'll never be as good as that!"

I paid about $25 for this DVD (with shipping). It is a professional production. Owing to its short length, however, I think this price was a wee bit steep. If you can get it for a better price, A FABULOUS MONSTER is well worth checking out. Here's hoping for a special edition which weaves the documentary in with Mr. Maven's full performance.

I bought it for $20 dollars when I saw his one man show. The show was amazing and yes, he should be more famous. But that's the name of the game, most genious's aren't recognized in their life time. ("most" is a figure of speach, not a statistic)

This was a fun to watch and a good intor to Max. I tought Weber's comments were the best and most analytical in regard to Max and his work. As to why he never achived the notoriety with the public like Kreskin, Dunninger, Derren Brown, I don't know? Maybe he spent more time publishing magic for magicians than working on his career.