World's Greatest Magic: Matrix/Coin Assemblies (DVD)

DVD Review: World's Greatest Magic - Matrix/Coin Assemblies

L&L Publishing has produced some of the world's best magic instructional DVDs in a series called the World's Greatest Magic by the World's Greatest Magicians. I'm a big fan of the series because each DVD focuses on a specific routine or prop that has become a classic in the history of legerdemain. These DVDs show some of the greatest living (and past) magicians performing and teaching their versions of the classic routine.

This time we look at the World's Greatest Magic Matrix/Coin Assemblies DVD. The DVD starts with the creator of the Matrix effect, Al Schneider, demonstrating and teaching the routine in his own words. The basic matrix routine is simple, yet striking. The magician positions four coins in a matrix (square) pattern. The magician then covers the four coins with four cards. One at a time, the coins magically gather under a single card.

Degree of Difficulty

Moderate to Expert. This really is a powerful effect that even a beginner can pull off with some practice. You really need a soft surface to work with though. I would suggest purchasing a close-up pad from a magic shop or on-line magic retailer for under $20. The pickup move that is required for all matrix routines is assisted by a little give in the surface. I have done the Johnny Thompson version using a dish towel so you could do that in a pinch or an impromptu setting.

Teaching

The teaching is fabulous - especially the classic Al Schneider routine as taught by Al Schneider.

Quantity of Effects

Al Schneider created this trick when he was just 17 years old showing that even a young mage can dream up magic that will stand the test of time. Schneider teaches the basic routine including the basic pick-up maneuver in great detail. Al covers some subtleties that he believes makes the effect more powerful. After a thorough explanation of his routine he covers some of his personal history of how it evolved. Then he goes on to show other pick-up maneuvers that have been magicians have came up with over the years. The DVD could end here and it would be worth twice what I paid ($18). Great stuff!

But wait, there's more!

Bill Malone's version
J.C. Wagner's Poor Man's Matrix
Harry Allen's Matrix
Aldo Colombini's Chink-a-Chink
Michael Ammar's Matrix
Johnny Thompson's Coin Assembly
Dan Fleshman's Matrix
Dan Harlan's Horror Matrix
Derek Dingle presents the Bertram Coin Assembly
Ross Bertram presents the Bertram Coin Assembly

Is that enough?

Quality of Effects

Every matrix offers some new angle on the routine. I'm not going to cover each matrix but I'll hit my favorites.

A coin matrix was one of the first coin tricks I learned. My version used a cloth towel or napkin and 2 dollar bills instead of 4 cards. This is a great impromptu/dinner table version of the matrix. The coin's are slide underneath the towel and penetrate through the towel. It has proven very effective for me. Johnny Thompson teaches a similar version with a handkerchief and cards.

Wagner's Poor Man's Matrix uses pennies - hence the "poor man's matrix." However he ends with the production of a jumbo penny under the stack of discarded cards. Then produces an even bigger jumbo penny.

Aldo Colombini's version is very clever. He really takes the one-ahead principle to a new level. He employs a clever gaff to execute a 3/4 of a matrix routine only to find that all coins have reversed back to the starting matrix position. Clever indeed!

Dan Fleshman starts with the Schneider matrix then follows up with a reverse matrix. The four coins literally appear back in their original position in a wink of the eye. Simply jaw dropping!

I love a good storytelling routine and Dan Harlan delivers a bloody good version called Horror Matrix. This is the story of 4 teenagers camping in the woods. Little do they know but a homicidal maniac has escaped from the local mental hospital. It's a great little version set to a horror theme perfect for adults and at Halloween time.

My favorite matrix is by Bill Malone. He delivers a two phase matrix that is filled with funny lines and blazing, fast magic. The first phase is the basic matrix. Malone's premise for the second phase is that he is going to expose the secret. Bill's explanation is hilarious and, of course, complete nonsense. The coins pop back and forth creating some magical mayhem before finally assembling under one card.

Dingle and Bertram's versions featured some sleight of hand vanishes and some tricky moves. However I thought they looked fishy in comparison to the more straight-forward handling of the steals and pick-ups.

Production Quality

The production is good. The DVD menus very straight-forward. The video quality is a mixed bag - mostly good but some of the video footage is very old - but that is to be expected when you are hitting the video archives to find versions from some of the older masters of the craft.

Overall: 9/10

So do you really need to learn 11 versions of the same routine? Of course not. However you'll find a cornucopia of matrix ideas and moves. If you watch closely, you will also discover dozens of moves and ideas that you could incorporate in other non-matrix coin & card tricks. For example, even though I really didn't like Ammar's version of the matrix, he teaches the Marlo Spider Vanish and some nice timing and misdirection elements. A much better version of the spider vanish that I had learned.

As with all L&L Publishing DVDs that I have purchased, this is an outstanding value and resource.

World's Greatest Magic: Card To Wallet (DVD)

World's Greatest Magic: Card To Wallet

One of the most beguiling effects in magic is "card to an impossible location;" card to shoe, card to pocket, card through window, card on ceiling just to name a few. One of the most stunning of the card-to effects would be the card to wallet (CTW). This DVD is a treasure trove of CTW effects by some of the best magi in the world.

This DVD is yet another fine release in the World's Greatest Magic by the World's Greatest Magicians (WGMBTWGM) series. This is the third DVD that I have purchased in this series and it won't be the last. L&L Publishing have taken the best routines from their catalog and created a themed set of DVDs. Each DVD focuses on a particular form of magic; linking rings, ambitious card, zombie ball, stand-up magic, etc. Incredibly, these DVDs are typically priced at $16-$18 per DVD!



Tim's Tip: If you don't already have a wallet, buy this DVD first and then decide which style of wallet is going to work for you. Each magician uses a different style wallet so you may end up needing 2 or 3 different wallets to pull off each routine. Realistically, you're only going to be able to do one CTW in your show. So watch the DVD a few times, pick the routine that fits your style the closest and purchase a wallet that works for that routine. I like the hip pocket, Fred Kaps style wallet the best and the Dan Fleshman routine.

Degree of Difficulty

Intermediate to Advanced. The sleights are not super, knuckle-busters but you'll need a lot of practice to polish these routines.

Teaching

Good to Great. I really enjoyed wathcing Alex Elmsley as he is a legendary figure in card magic. Eddie Tullock is perhaps the hardest to follow simply because of his age; but he's still very sharp and Micheal Ammar interviews Eddie on the finer points of his routine. Micheal Ammar also has his own routine on this DVD and appears or is mentioned is several other routines on the DVD.

Quality of Effects

Average to excellent. A couple average routines but they are a couple killer routines as well.

Quantity of Effects

Realistically, you're only going to use one of the seven CTW routines but you've got some great material to choose from.

Jon Mendoza starts the fun with the Bendix Bombshell. This trick relies on a himber style of which John doesn't really explain the mechanics because it is a marketed item. Even though this is a good routine, I think it is the weakest since there doesn't seem to be any motivation for the trick. It starts with two signed cards. Two other cards are in play and they make up a very basic two card transposition effect. Then the routine abruptly ends with the two signed cards revealed from a zippered compartment in the wallet.

Alexander De Cova presents his Professional Card to Wallet routine. DeCova does demo this for a studio audience so you get a condensed demo presentation of his effect. He gets a signed card from the spectator. De Cova explains that he has a (large) wallet with an enveloped letter from his friend. DeCova opens the wallet, opens the envelop and remove a letter and some varied, casino playing cards that his friend has sent. The signed card is the last card in the small stack of cards. It's a novel effect and the most elaborate set-up of the seven routines.

Micheal Ammar presents his Card in Wallet routine that is really a torn and restored card effect where the almost restored card appears in his un-gimmicked wallet. A spectator is asked to tear their selected card into eigths. The spectator is given a piece of the card as a reciept. Ammar paperclips the pieces together. A wave of the hand and the paperclips turn into a credit card. Hmmm....if the credit card is here then the card must be in my wallet. Cleanly and in full view, Ammar removes his wallet and produces the card. The card is restored except for the corner that the spectator is holding. As you would expect from Ammar, this is a very entertaining routine.

I'm not familiar with Eddie Tullock but apparently he specializes in tradeshow magic. This is a good routine but not my favorite. The specatator scans a quickly spread deck of cards and is asked think of any one card they see. Eddie guesses wrong the first time which gives him an oppurtunity to patter a bit and set up the climax. He then asks the spectator what their card really was. Eddie opens his wallet and removes their thought of card. I think this could be a winnner with a creative presentation. The wallet is un-gimmicked.

Dan Fleshman's Momma In My Wallet is my personal favorite routine on this disk because it is accessible (not too difficult) and has two nice effects. The trick is basically the Chicago Opener that ends with a CTW. The Chicago opener is a two phase routine. One minor problem, the card selected in the first phase has transformed into the second card. What happened to the first card? Fleshman attempts to tie up that loose end by revealing the card from a zippered compartment in his wallet. He has taken a classic trick in card magic and made it one phase better!

Alex Elmsley presents an ultra-fast signed CTW routine that looks pretty impossible. This is probably the most technically challenging routine but it te pay-off will be worth the effort.

Eric DeCamps presents the final routine which looks to have been filmed in the early 1980s.
Obviously DeCamps is extremely talented but I felt like I was watching Dean Martin do magic. Of course, this is obviously a very old video tape so perhaps his style played well back in the 80s. DeCamps instruction is very good though and he provides some great CTW tips and psychology. He has 3 spectators select cards with one of the specs signing the card. After shots the first two cards spinning into the air, he follows a great full deck vanish. This motivates the question; where is the third card? In the wallet of course. Old video and style aside, this is a well taught routine.

Production

Well the minor downside to a "greatest hits" format is that L&L Publishing is pulling material from many different productions from different time periods. Most of the clips are of good quality however the Eric DeCamps is very dated looking. You'll feel like humming the theme to VH-1's I Love The 80s.

The menu system is simple and very functional. L&L provides extensive previews from their product offerings.

Overall: 9/10

Yet another great addition to the WGMBTWGM series by L&L Publishing. The low price on these DVDs make them a great buy. Collect 'em all!

REVIEW: Complete Course in Magic with Cups & Balls

I hadn't seen a review of this DVD set so I thought I would post my first review. I received this DVD set as a promo about 6 months ago and just got around to really spending some quality time with the material. I wanted a Balls and Cups DVD and Penguin had it as a promo so I went against the conventional wisdom (Michael Ammar Cups and Balls DVD #1 and #2) and got Eddy Ray set instead. This is a two DVD set and currently sells for 37.95.

I can't really compare the quality of this set to the Michael Ammar Cups and Balls DVDs because I never seen them. However, I did a move by move comparison and they are very comparable from a content standpoint. The Ammar set appears to have a little material that is not on the Eddy Ray set however the reverse is also true (more on that in just a sec).

The Eddy Ray has about 80 sections broke into the following categories.

DVD 1
Introduction (props, terms and the professional routine)
Essentials moves and Sleights
Holding Out
Essential Secret Loads
Steal Balls from The Tabled Cups
Faking the Load
Cup Manipulations

DVD 2
Wand Manipulations & Moves
Starting Your Routine
Starting Sequences
Middle Sequences
Final Loads
Final Sequences
Final Load Revelations (Rhythms)
Roy Benson Bowl Routine

There are also 2 performances clips

The DVD is well produced. It has a classical music sound track which I like (I can imagine some people might not). The teaching is a tad dry but very good. Ray occasionally flashes but overall he seems to be a very capable Cups and Balls performer.

Being a noob to the Balls and Cups, I didn't understand the organization of the material at first. Once I got midway through the 2nd DVD it all became clear and I got excited about the possibilities. You really are given the building blocks to creating your own routine. The building blocks are roughly presented as a series of beginnings, middles, and endings.

There are a few things that are on this DVD that I gather may not be on the Ammar DVD. These are:

The Eddy Ray Advanced Stack Move - loading two balls into the same nested cup.
The Eddy Ray Cheat Move - a better version of the Click Move - this is one of the best moves on the DVD.
Francis Carlyle's Proposition Bet - not really a trick - more of an optical illusion
Four wand spins
Wand Appearance with a silk
Wand Disappearance with a silk
Eddy Ray Wand vanish
Roy Benson Bowl Routine

The Roy Benson Bowl Routine is a bonus. Basically a single cup (bowl) routine with sponge balls. His final load is a deck of cards so it is a really great transition routine.

My only complaint was that I wish Ray provided a little more instruction on misdirection, acting, patter and presentation.

I have 12 instructional magic DVDs and this is one of the best I have so far. I give this DVD set a 8/10 rating. He lost points for some lazy editing on the second disk and a dry presentation.

Editor's Note 10/6/08: I have 33 DVDs now and it's still one of my favorite DVDs simply for the sheer wealth of material.