talkmagic.co.uk

Warning: Very lengthy review ahead.

The Effect
This is a complete mentalism show, using only items that were found, or which cost less than $10…with one exception (kind of). The individual effects are detailed in the Review section below.

Cost
Depends where you go, but UK suppliers seem to be charging a fair bit for it. £74.99 is the price at Alakazam, for example. Top Secret Magic is selling it for £70. It may be cheapest to get one sent from the USA.

Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

Depending on how you present these things, anything from 1 to 5, although the difficulty may be in presenting the effects to their fullest; there is very little in the way of 'moves'.

Review
There are lots of different bits to this DVD, so I'll try and put them in a vaguely sensible order. First, the effects and my comments on them:

Disposable Color
Anyone who has 'Prism' will know this one. There's some very interesting material in the explanations section. As with a lot of this DVD set, the things discussed have wider implications than for just one effect. I could certainly think of one way Max could have got a better chance with this, but he handled it in his own way. I am not saying my way is right, just different!

The Nile Derivation
This is one of the routines I liked best. I knew, or guessed, the basics, but there are some excellent handling tips included. An audience member is asked to select a number and write it down where no one can see what is being put. The performer then asks various people in the audience to give him single digits. After he's collected several of these, he stops and asks someone to add up the digits to produce a total. This matches the number selected by the first person.

Synchrostic
Two watches are borrowed from audience members. The performer and a participant from the audience each set a time on one of the watches, behind their backs. Each looks at one watch and notes the time, then turns the stem to hide this. The performer and the spectator write down the times they saw. They match.

Well, that's the theory. In fact, this bit went wrong, and Max had to 'massage' the result. The method is likely to be fairly obvious to anyone who knows a reasonable amount about mentalism. I can't say I cared too much for this. The procedure involved came across as a bit arbitrary and unnecessarily complicated to me, especially compared with some other similar effects.

Astrologous
This was probably my favourite piece. The performer produces some plastic chips (like counters for a game), each of which has a sign of the Zodiac on it. A person in the audience is asked to assist but to remain in her seat. A different member of the audience is asked to join the performer on stage. The helper 'shuffles' the chips and hands them to the performer (behind the latter's back). The performer (still with hands behind his back) gets the participant to take a chip. The helper seated in the audience is asked for her sign. It matches the chip taken by the second spectator.

I thought this was great. I loved the premise and the method. If one wished, the revelation could then be linked into a little astrological reading.

Just Chintz
This is a bonus routine involving a 'Just Chance' sort of plot, with people from the audience having chances to pick a prize at random. As usual, they end up with nothing (although Max's clever version pretends otherwise) and the performer is left with the valuable item. Two methods are given for this.

I thought this was a nice routine. I knew the method, but managed to forget I knew as I watched! There's a lot of humour involved and it's helpful to hear Max's views on the 'Just Chance'/'Bank Night' plot. I fear that there might be a rash of people trying to do this in his style, which is probably not a good idea.

Psychometier
As you might guess, this is a psychometry routine. A pack of five envelopes is opened and five audience members are given one each and instructed to put a personal item inside. The envelopes are collected by a sixth person from the audience, who mixes them, before returning the envelopes to the mentalist. The performer then associates each item with the person who gave it.

This is similar to many other effects, but it's good to see how this is handled in practice. Routines like this have been around for ages. Max's ending is good, although I'm not sure psychometry is really my cup of tea.

Para-Sight
Max hands a few different magazines to a spectator. One is chosen and a page selected at random, one digit at a time. He asks the audience member to concentrate on the main picture on the page and, little by little, reveals the details.

Well, this is the famous Para-Sight. I have to say that I was a little disappointed with the basic effect. It's good, don't get me wrong, but after reports of the manuscript for this going for $80 I was expecting a bit more. Part of the method seemed extremely obvious to me and I wasn't happy that it would necessarily sail past an audience. I might be a little overly cautious. Other bits of the method were handled so smoothly I really didn't notice them at all. It has implications for any other book or magazine test you may wish to do.

But wait, there's more!

As well as a basic performance and a full one (the latter of which includes the bonus effect), there is also a 'hidden' (sort of) version of the full performance with Max doing commentary. This is extremely useful as an insight into why certain things went the way they did, coping and management strategies and various other practical issues. The aim was to film the show in one run, with no retakes. In this version you also get to see Max's initial words to the audience, where he asks them not to overdo reactions. I found this version of the show fascinating and well worth viewing, if you wish to perform any kind of mentalism, or any other kind of magic where you deal with an audience a lot.

I feel I should say something about some comments made elsewhere that Max handles the audience badly. It's true that occasionally he chooses someone I would have avoided and that this comes back to bite him. However, witnessing him handle the people who don't notice things properly, don't follow instructions, or who can't add up right is extremely useful. I am of the opinion that seeing ways of dealing with potential problems can be more useful than seeing a flawless show that was actually filmed three times to make sure everything worked.

Max states that he likes to have some risk in his shows and I think this is evident from the performance.

So, yes, it could have been smoother, but from my perspective, this DVD is a lot more useful for the fact that things didn't go absolutely to plan.

The explanations are interesting. Max has a symposium of performers assembled, with whom he discusses the effects. However, apart from Eugene Burger, no one says much, largely because Max has prepared his notes so well there isn't much else to say!

Max goes into the history of each effect as well as lots of detail on the method and performance. I love this stuff, but for those of you who only care about the methods, it might be a bore. I am not a history nut, by the way, but I appreciate hearing background to an effect, because that can often help you put it into perspective and may even suggest variations or ways of tailoring it to your personality.

There is also a fairly lengthy interview/discussion between Max and Michael Weber. Again, this was fascinating to me. The interview gives a great deal of insight into Max's views on the art, including his take on the history of mentalism. I especially agreed with his comments about mentalism performers who try to do mind reading, telekinesis, medium effects and predictions all in one act. It's not a new point, but it's well made.

Max also makes some comments that apply to magic in general, such as working environments for performers.

Oh yes. There are some 'Easter eggs' too. Nothing amazing, however.

Overall

I liked it. It's not the jaw-dropping experience I hoped it would be, but I have no regrets about buying this. If you want absolutely brain-frying, brand new tricks to fool people at the magic club, quick-fix solutions or, even worse, an act you can just lift and do yourself, you might want to look elsewhere. Also, if you are a very experienced performer, you might not gain much.

If, on the other hand, you like to consider your magic, where it's going and what you and your act are saying, this could be very useful to you.

Obviously, it's mainly of interest to mentalists, but there's stuff in the interview and the discussions for other magical performers. The price tag probably doesn't really justify the DVD's purchase by non-mentalists, though.

9/10 if you are a mentalist, or would-be mentalist who likes to think about things and wants ideas about performance, stagecraft and structure.

7/10 if you are a mentalist who is fairly new and looking for material and would find the discussions useful. I feel that the price tag, combined with the nature and number of effects makes this DVD set less useful to that type of performer than, say, volume 1 of Richard Osterlind's DVD series.

5/10 if you are looking for the latest must-have killer mental effects and you don't give a damn about all that 'boring' chat, or if you are already a very experienced mentalist, in which case the effects and the background information are unlikely to be of use.

Suberb review! If anyone's wondering about this I think you've given a very fair and comprehensive assessment of what they'll get for their money.

I agree, great review.

Don't think I'll buy it now though

I received mine last Wednesday and I have to say that the review is very accurate (in my opinion), nice job.

This DVD is sold on the idea that Max Maven does a whole show with props that collectively cost less that $10. And that he spends less than 10 mins preparing. What suprises me is that anyone who has been doing mentalism for more than 6mths would think that this is something special.

Most people (interested in mentalism) ought to be able to put on a show with only a pen and some paper. What is difficult is creating a show that will be interesting an enjoyable for your audience. The skill required is in coming up with a concept for your show and writing a script (whether it's fully scripted or simply a theme to improvise around).

From what I've heard, in reviews etc, is that Maven doesn't present the effects very well.

Good review, I was browsing the other day on a magic site and was curious about this DVD but thanks to your honest review I think I'll spend my money on something else.
It doesn't sound as if there is much new here. I don't have any of Max Maven's stuff, are his other releases better than this?

I don't have any of Max Maven's stuff, are his other releases better than this?

I always feel a bit shortchanged by his stuff.

Books-wise, if you compare PRISM to Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy (both mentalism and around the same price) there is much more information in the Cassidy.

DVD-wise, if you compare Maven to Osterlind, the effects are of about equal strength, complexity, etc. but you get much more on an Osterlind DVD than you do Maven.

I'm not saying he's a bad performer or teacher (despite my comments above) or that people shouldn't buy his stuff. Just that other mentalists of his calibre seem to offer more for your money.

Excellent review which I wholeheartedly agree with.

I really enjoyed Max's earlier mind parlour videos & still refer back to these on occasion but I found the effects on this DVD un-inspiring for the most. Haven't actually got around to watching the explanations yet, just the presentations.

If your after some Max Maven & you don't have his mind parlour videos I'd recommend those over Nothing.

I have just ordered this today as I've wanted it for a long time. It seems my patience has payed off too, because instead of having to pay about £70 for the DVD, I managed to find an absolute bargain!

Magicbox.com (I love that site) are selling it amongst their DVD sale items for a mere £29.99. What a steal!

If anyone was thinking about buying this, but didn't because of the price tag (let's face it £70 is a bit of a rip-off), buy it from magicbox instead. You'll save a fortune....well, not really a "fortune" - only about £40, but thats still better than a kick in the proverbials.

Have a good weekend all. Tyler.

Take a look here if you need a certain item...

http://highland-games.co.uk/Dodgy-Dice.php

I paid nothing like £75 for Nothing, but I must admit I am more pleased with it than I have been with other of Max's videos. If nothing else it makes you think of eliminating props from your mentalism.
However I agree with an earlier comment that any experienced mentalist should be able to do their own Nothing show. I know the longer I am around the less props I seem to carry.
There were some nice effects in Nothing, and my favourite was Just Chintz. Great entertainment out of a simple plot.
I know Richard Osterland's videos have great information on them, but I find his performing style a bit cold. For me he doesn't make sufficient emotional connection with his audience. Or maybe that's just me.
I recommend Nothing highly.

Hey guys,

I purchased this DVD from ebay (I know - cheap / tight student ) and still paid £64.99 (plus postage) for it

I've never really done any seriosu mentalism (Not knocking the trade here) because, after reading parts of 13 steps, I always felt a bit put off by the extencive (and often expencive) props used.

However, after watching this DVD, I have a new found respect for mentalist performers. Sure, he doesnt handle the crowd in the best possible way (To quote from above: picks people who may not have been the best spectators etc) and yes, some of the tricks do seem a little odd considering the final outcome (the watch one really did nothing for me, and I guessed instantly how it was done (Not revealing etc but his misdirection seems totally un-needed, and didnt really seem to make sense to me). However, I feel that the commentary, and the nice fact that his audience wasnt the "standard" L&L style "Oh Wwow" *LOUDEST APPAUDE EVER* "That was AMAZING" meant that you got a much more realistic view / oppinion of how these tricks might go down when actually perfoming them.


My Mini Review:

(for price details etc, see top post, as the price is still pretty much the same £65 to £70)

I felt that the quality of presentation was very good for this DVD, he presented himself well, and the fact that it was just Max, not even a table (apart from 1 trick) and the audience, with nothing but items you can buy from almost anywhere - I'm asure you could get all you require from tesco's in 1 trip - means that the vuiewer is able to see a new side to perfoming magic in general (not JUST mentalism - the effetcs mentioned and taught, combined with his detailed explenation video mean that you could easily adapt several existing tricks to function in a much less "prop oriented" way).

The explenations are in GREAT detail, and also provide some insight into the trick, its history and creation, as well as other slight variences on the trick - allowing for unique patter creation if you so require (which I do - I feel that tricks work better, if you are able to, whilst performing, tell a story / breif history of the trick).
The input, however small, form the other perfomers on the explenation DVD mean that you get a slightly better veiw of why the tricks were done in the way they were, as opposed to a generic explenation - again, adding to a better understanding of the tricks chosen for this DVD

Marks:
(have to agree with initial poster here)
9/10 if (like me) you are new to mentalism, and want an insight into POSSIBLE tricks you can do, without the expence of props

More than likely though, people who buy this will be slightly dissapionted by the fact that these are tricks which may indeed require your own twist (ie to make them your own, rather than simply sopying Max) to get them to work for you, and you may find that only 1 or 2 will actually work for you as a perfomer.

Thus, my overal scores are as follows:

Price / Vaule for Money: 6/10 (£65 is A LOT for this dvd in my oppinion, mainly because I feel that the way these tricks are explained almost feels like common sence, or an easier way out, as opposed to "real" mentalism)

Content: 7.5/10 (I feelt hat you do get a LOT here, which, with a few tweaks and modding, you could fit into your personal routine with ease, and really get those "wow" moments from)

Overal: 7/10

Cheers,
Dan