Anyone have any opinions? I'm half way through the set, will post my thoughts once all have been watched.

Be good to hear how they match up to the hype..

I'm waiting to hear the reaction so I can decide my next move.

H.W

Will be interesting to hear some more opinions, have read some early reviews on another site. They were not too impressed with the set. They felt that a lot of the routines were only designed for the dvd's and would not stand and haven't been tried in the real world.

Waiting with bated breath......!!

Huh?? I thought these ARE real world routines that Mark has done. I dunno, but I still think there is gold in these dvds somewhere.

Well I've watched the first 3 DVD's and I'm not overly impressed, there are some really nice bits in there, when I watched his "prize draw" it floored me and the explanation is tidy too, good effect.

Some of the routines, I'll take and think of something that will suit my style more, but there are some routines that ill stay away from, you can tell that Marc Spelman was a long time performing magician before his jump over to mentalism and this shows in some of his thinking and his performance in general.

I really liked his £1,000,000 serial killer routine, he doesn't mention it but I'm sure this was partly inspired by Marc Paul's "coin in hand" routine for aspects of it. Very bold and direct, I will definitely be experimenting with this.

Will post more once I have watched the last of the series, I'm sure many of you will find something of interest in there.

Til next time,

Awaiting a decent review before making the big purchase.

Number 4 has some nice close up bits in it, some of the coin bending stuff is quite nice although maybe a little overworked in areas, again this is I feel due to Mark's "magiciany" ways. You also need to understand I'm speaking purely from a mentalism point of view, if you perform mental magic these would be very good for you, some real nice card work if you perform with playing cards.

A lot of the effects are really designed for stage performance but could if thought about be developed for close up.

There is also a secret performance of any card at any number right at the very end of the DVD, which a "thought of card" and a named number match, very good!

I'm quite surprised the number of people who have gotten these now and have not made a single comment.

I was tempted but since I only got the set yesterday and haven't watched them all yet, its too early to plunge in with a full review.

If I'm to say anything, it would be that the descriptions of the effects on the DVD covers and Alakazam website don't always correspond with what's performed. For instance, divining which spectator is thinking of a 'sour' taste rather than a 'sweet' taste is clearly NOT the same as diving which of 5 spectators has physically CHOSEN the only green sweet out of a bag of sweets.

More to come ... when I've finished watching them.

Richpoyle --

I'm in the US, so still anxiously waiting for delivery. Out of curiousity though, couldn't the sweet/sour taste effect you mention below be presented in the way Alakazam advertised? (i.e., think about the taste in your mouth....)

Again, my comment is naive not having seen the DVD yet, but just curious.

Yours in Magic,

Scott

Scott - it IS presented in that way - the spectators imagining the taste of the sweet they've chosen.

But anyone who's seen another, very popular and highly regarded set of mentalism DVDs, will instantly recognise it as a variation of an effect which involves small objects being drawn from a bag.

By the way, I got it the wrong way round - one spectator thinks of a sweet taste, the others think of a sour taste.

It's a good effect, as is the the routine on which its based, but the description Alakazam gives it implies the spectators just imagine the taste - rather than have it prompted by something they've physically chosen and handled.

Getting away from the effects, the production quality is high - nice menus, good music, good camerawork (although some close-ups at key points would've helped). Compared to the tungsten tinted, blurry travesty that was 'Skullduggery', this is a welcome step toward quality,

I don't want to say anymore at this stage - its too early to judge a 4 DVD set - this is just my initial impression.

I'm in the 'too early to properly review' camp at the moment. At first glance the first 3 DVDs are excellent if stage mentalism is your thing, and the same for DVD 4 and close-up.

The majority of the effects seem practical and powerful, but I'm sure there are often easier ways of doing things, which only make the effects seem less clean to other magicians. E.g. the sweet and sour tase effects, one may as well just use the method given by 'the other famous mentalist with a well respected DVD series'.

My only slight gripe is that Untouched or Real PK (whatever it's called) was a bit disappointing - it's no revolutionary concept - I cannot imagine anyone not doing this the same day they get this common item. He has, however, added a nice subtlety to the handling.

Just a few preliminary thoughts,

Scott J.

I have seen these over the weekend, and they do not live up to the hype, I'm afraid in comparison to Osterlind's they pale.

Sorry to bring bad news.

Okay, I've watched pretty much the whole set over the weekend, but will need to watch them again to get a full review going.

Yet, my reaction is WOW! I love the set!

There is pretty much a huge performance piece on each DVD. These being "The prize draw" "One in thousands" and "Staple Roulette." These three routines in my opinion are worth the full price of the set alone, and furthermore I would have happily payed for it. They are all very clever!

Other highlights of the set for me is the section of Untouched. Even after watching the explanation, the part where Marc spins a fork on the table had me gasping! Also the orifices is also a great routine. The reaction of the girl volunteer is priceless! Also there is a great marked deck system which I will definitely be switching to.

Overall I am very impressed with the set and glad I preordered and waited so long. I really can't believe people are saying that these do not live up to the hype.

(just on the off beat, there is also some great humour scattered throughout the set, that make them a real pleasure to watch. Especially the part when Marc makes reference to moving a whole person with Untouched!!! ((that is a joke by the way))

These are just my first impressions of the set.

Thanks 123! has anyone in the US reviewed their set yet?

So far most of the reviews I've read and heard from people who excitedly pre-ordered these tapes are negative. some say the hype was so great that nothing could have lived up to it, inevitably leaving people disappointed. (guys: this is why they sell it for 10 pounds less if you pre-order - if the sellers were entirely confident in the product they would not make this offer. they would sell it at full price and the great reviews would ensure that it sells-out. the amount of hype generated and the pre-order sale should get your red-lights flashing, amigos).

If somebody is really THAT dissapointed with their set, I'd be willing to take it off their hands, send me a message and let me know....

Well, I've watched the entire set several times now, although Vol. 4 (the close-up) less than the others.

Here are my conclusions:

Marc Spelmann is a worker, of that there is no doubt. Unlike the world of TV and magic-convention-apearance (and probably magic-DVD-land as well) most professional performers are looking for longer routines, NOT 1 or 2 minute hits. A mentalism pro might perform 6 or 7 effects/routines in 45 minutes - he is looking for meaty routines, not wham-bam-thank-you-mam.

On this level Spelmann provides superbly. There are at least seven or eight routines on these DVDs which could drop into ANYONE'S act. No wonder Osterlind, Banachek and Becker were so complimentary in their quotes - they know quality when they see it!

The chair routine alone is worth £1000s to the working performer. However, I can easily see why the armchair mentalists are disappointed - this material needs to be performed!

Overall, I'm massively impressed with Spelmannn's material and whilst his performance personna is not my favorite ever (although IMHO it's better than Osterlind's) I think the true value of these DVDs lies in the strength of the material. 'Nuff said...

Scott

IMO this is about the most responsible post I've read in this discussion thus far.
The 4 Spelmann DVD's just got into buyers' hands within the past few days . . . no doubt a lot of work went into creating them, and their distributor (Peter Nardi) is deservingly well-known for the numerous top-knotch effects his company, Alakazam Magic, has been putting out, especially in recent months.
I really think, as 123majik123 is going to do, early purchasers of the set should consider give each DVD another full-viewing before posting reviews of them, unless one makes very clear that their views are very tentative.
As with many quality products in magic and other fields, it's only after repeated viewing or use that the full merits of an item are appreciated.
I have a feeling it may take multiple viewings to get a firm feel for this DVD set's value.

"Orifices"? "Girl volunteer"?
What's the rating of these DVD's anyway? :-0