Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
This first part is in the reviews for volumes 4, 5 and 6, so you can skip it if you've already read it.
How Shall I Judge?
This whole set is a weird set to judge and review. It's not quite fair to judge Richard Osterlind on any weak parts of the performance he may have had because, likely, most of the stuff on this set is not in his regular repertoire so I don't expect it to be polished. Secondly, according to Jim Sisti (co-host), this set also was not intended to be a "best of" series either, so I can't really judge the set based on whether or not the material chosen was the top Annemann stuff either. Due to the way the Annemann book was written (as Osterlind and Sisti point out), it wouldn't make sense to go chapter by chapter (like Osterlind did for the Corinda series), so I can't really judge the set on how "complete" (or not) it is.
So, that leaves me judging the set based on the ad copy claims and the intent (according to Jim Sisti) of the set. My judgement on that is basically the same for all 3 videos (4, 5, and 6), so this part of the review will be found at the beginning of each of the three volumes. Following my general comments about the series, you'll find my thoughts on the effects of whichever DVD I'm reviewing.
General Comments About the Whole Set
A small disclaimer: Jim Sisti is a friend of mine and Richard Osterlind is a cyber-acquaintance of mine. We have a few friends in common (Jim Sisti, Jim Spinnato and Chet Cox). But as you'll quickly see, those relationships have not biased my review. Let's look at the ad copy first. I take no issue with the first 2 paragraphs. However, let's look at the third paragraph:
These six volumes truly offer the definitive work on the material from this classic book. There are routines for any situation whether close-up, parlor or stage and, additionally, you will learn classic principles of mentalism which you can apply to your own, original routines. If you ever wondered what this classic material would look like when presented in today's modern world to a contemporary audience, you now have your chance. Every effect is a stunner!
Definitive? I hardly feel that culling together a couple dozen routines over the course of six videos is Definitive . . . especially when you consider the volume of magic found between the pages of the original book. The next two sentences I agree with. But the third (every effect is a stunner), not so much. That's always a matter of opinion, but I'm gonna go with . . . no . . . not EVERY effect is a stunner.
Let's examine the purpose. According to the discussions (which I did find valuable and insightful) between Osterlind and Sisti, the intent of this set is to inspire people to dig through the book. They were very clear that they weren't trying to replace the book. They were trying to inspire a new generation of Annemannites. Based strictly on the impact the majority of the effects seemed to have on the audience (poor performances not withstanding), I think they nailed this one.
I've personally read the book 2 times from cover to cover and have skimmed and read chapters and studied parts of the book several times over, on top of the 2 full readings. Yet, after watching these DVDs, I now want to go back in and dig even deeper into the book. Most of the time, the audience members were quite astonished and in many cases actually creeped out a bit. It was some powerful stuff. One of the advantages of Osterlind's bare-bones presentations on much of this material is that it gave me the opportunity to project my thoughts and feelings on how I might perform the effects.
Further, a goal of this set was to prove that the material was not "dated." Yep. They proved that too. The material, effects, etc. is anything but dated. Rather, it's timeless . . . and you see this very clearly in the audience reactions. Were I to judge this DVD soley on this part (how well they attained the goals of the project), it'd be hard to give this anything less than 4 stars. So the advertisement and intent seem to balance out each other pretty well.
What you'll find is that pretty much every DVD has one or two standout items that will inspire you to dive into the book more thoroughly. Which effects will inspire you? Everyone is different, so it's hard to say. However, I am confident that you will find at least one effect that "moves" you and gets you to crack open the book again which was their goal. And I must say, that goal alone makes this DVD set worthy of consideration. Anything that inspires us to turn to our roots so that we can branch out is valuable in my book. Let's move on to the DVD at hand . . .
Thoughts on Volume VI
That's me in the corner, Losing My Religion (Thank you R.E.M.) - or maybe it's me in the corner losing my mind because I've got my brain locked on an infinite Annemann loop . . . it's a bit like a mobius loop, but only more intense. That's the price I pay - watching these DVDs multiple times - to give you the best review I can give. I hope it pays off for y'all.
Tervil (4.5 stars)
3 Things are required for this effect: a pen, some billets and titanium cajones . . . but man if you've got all three of those you've got a heckuva trick. This is literally how clean it looks. The mental one writes down three things on a piece of paper and cleanly places it on the table for all to see.
Then after ward a spectator writes three things down on a piece of paper which is given to someone else to hold. You then have another spectator read aloud your prediction. It matches exactly what the other spectator wrote down. It's super easy; the misdirection needed for the one "move" is extremely well thought out and built in. You'll have to bring your own presentation - one is not supplied. :)
Symmyst (2 stars)
This one's a tough call here. First, Richard opted to use Larry Becker's Flashback books rather than the original method from the Annemann book using magazines. Further, we see Richard's routine using features of the Flashback book that were not part of the original effect.
He says that the principles are the same. This is true for the most part. However, he further states that he's not going to explain the way the Flashback concept works. He states as his reasoning that anyone familiar with mentalism at all already knows how the Flashback principle works.
I take issue with that statement because, by that very argument this entire series of DVDs should not exists. After all, anyone familiar with mentalim should already be aware of Annemann's works and particularly the book that this DVD set is based upon.
So, you don't learn the original routine. You don't really learn Richard's routine because he won't tip the gaff (rightfully so . . . it's not his to tip) of the Flashback books, and all in the same breath essentially says that if you're watching these DVDs you don't really need to be watching them. And even if he did tip the gaff, it wouldn't matter because you'd need to own the Flashback books to do it.
In the end, I just went with 2 stars here. I can't give the original a low star rating, but I can't really rate it here since it was never shown. I can't give the performed version a high rating because he doesn't teach you how to do it, and the overall effect rating was docked because of his comment about "those familiar with mentalism."
Death Flight (3.5 stars)
Living/Dead test meets cards across . . . this is a novel effect where a card with the name of a dead person written on it travels from one envelope to another. The method is pretty easy, but slightly fishy looking. But all in all a good effect and when done casually, the fishiness is likely overlooked.
The Phantom Artist (3 stars)
Ok . . . this requires that you own a copy of the book (good thing this DVD includes a PDF of the book). It's a good effect with potential, but the method seemed way to obvious during the performance. However, I can see it not being too hard to come up with a simpler or better method. The effect itself is very good.
A celebrity is "chosen" (if you know what I mean). Then you cut up a piece of folder paper (much like you would to make a snowflake). When you open the paper up, a silhouette of the "chosen" celebrity is seen to have been cut out of the paper. The effect is good, but it's this latter part of the effect's method that needs some improving.
Whim of Tituba (2.5 stars)
The problem here folks . . . contradictions. In the earlier effect, Symmyst Richard opted not to use a particular method of forcing a page number for a couple of reasons. One of which was, as he pointed out, how ridiculous of a method it was.
Yet on this effect, he uses that very method and points out how fair the method is and how it's sort of the main reason that the effect is so powerful. Yet, the effect is good. I think it just needs a better page "selection" process than the one supplied.
During the performance it was clear that Richard was even struggling with making the "selection" process work properly. The whole thing was very hard to watch, yet . . . it still blew the audience away. That speaks a lot for the effect, and it is a good one.
A spectator seals an envelope inside of an envelope inside of another envelope. Though he looked inside each envelope before sealing them, moments later a page (the "selected") page is found to be missing from a magazine and is discovered in the envelopes that the spectator has been holding the whole time.
Powerful effect . . . the low score is due to the method and the contradictions on the method by Richard.
Final Thoughts
A bit frustrating is the fact that the DVD only includes 5 effects. That's 6 bucks per effect. For that price, I should be getting more than a mere exposure to the technique. I should be getting solid performances - I didn't. I should be getting more pointers on how to present this - I didn't. I should not be getting told that I should already know the method because I know about mentalism - I did.
The average star rating of the tricks is 3.1 stars. I would easily feel justified in rounding down if it weren't for one major component. This volume actually comes with a PDF of the entire book, Practical Mental Effects by Annemann. That alone is worth the cost of the DVD . . . however, according to Richard's implication about knowing the secrets of the Flashback books, you already own Annemann . . . but even if you do, you can now own him digitally.
I've given you a lot of information for you to base your decision on. I think it's been very fair and very accurate. The final decision is up to you.
Final Verdict:
3.5 Stars with a Stone Status of gem.