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Tommy Wonder - Visions Of Wonder volume 3 (DVD)

Cost
£10.74 at Kernow Magic (down from £21.48 - it's on offer, I think)
£24.99 at Alakazam

The Effect
Nest of Boxes
Coins Across
Ambitious Card and Ring Box
Everywhere & Nowhere
Card Through Handkerchief

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)

There's nothing below a 3, and some of the tricks require an intricate knowledge of wood and metalwork to make the gimmicks, which would make that, what, a 7? The card tricks are 3-5s though, some are easier than others.

Performance

Well, it's Tommy Wonder. We all know how amazing he was, and even with the L&L audience (some people love them, some hate them, I fall in with the latter lot - I find L&L crowds extremely irritating) his stuff is absolutely invisible. Even on second, third, fourth viewing, it's seamless. He was a real master of the art and these tapes are a great example of this, and are sadly now part of a finite collection of Tommy's published work. It would be worth the money just to see the guy work.

Explanations

Everything is explained absolutely thoroughly, often alongside Max Maven who adds some interesting points and, thankfully, acts as "the ignorant viewer", occasionally pulling Tommy back to points that he hasn't explained in enough detail for people who aren't as quick as he is - although in at least one instance, the explanation makes the effect seem less possible. You have been warned.

There aren't many "tricks" to be learned here - his ambitious card routine is spectacular and anybody who incorporates an ACR into their act would be hard pushed to find a better one than his, but you should really be buying this to see his work on the nest of boxes problem, which acts as a microcosm for the Wonder philosophy and shows why Tommy was one of magic's genuinely great thinkers. There are three solutions presented, in chronological order in regards to when Tommy came up with them. Most would have stopped at the first, but he kept hacking away at it and looking for better, smarter theories. His third solution - which would almost certainly not have been his last - is a miracle in terms of effect, presentation, and craftsmanship.

The explanations are what, I think, will make these tapes - this volume in particular - "classic" in years to come. Nobody builds stuff and thinks like he did, and that's a real shame.

Overall

You won't be doing most of the tricks on this tape. Some of the card stuff you may be capable of, but if you're after tricks to add to your repertoire, this is probably the least appealing of the Visions of Wonder.

What this tape will give you, and certainly gave me, is a sense that you should always be trying to better yourself without compromise. Tommy Wonder set some ridiculously high benchmarks when it came to magical creativity, building and adapting gimmicks that nobody used before and nobody's used since - and he never compromised the effect. He created a nest of boxes effect in which he really never touches the box. It took him however many years to do it, but he did it, and he did it himself without buying dealer items. What you're paying for with this is Tommy's philosophy on magic, that - no matter what branch you're in - you can take and apply to your own work.

Whatever price they're asking for this tape, pay it.

Score: 10/10. I know nothing's perfect but I haven't been this excited by a DVD since I was given the Devil's Picturebook.

If you haven't already got them, take a look at The Books of Wonder.

The points he makes about taking an effect that has been published and making it entirely unique is very inspiring. Don't become another brick in the (magician) wall.

I've had the Books of Wonder for a while and they're similarly awe-inspiring. The amount of thought he put into an effect as seemingly trivial at 50 per cent lighter is staggering. He was an incredible thinker.

I only can agree with that, if you don't have them, buy them.
Also if you don't have the books, get them too, as they are for me the two most loved books on magic.

For all that have the books and not the DVDs I recommend still to get all three DVDs. When I talked Stephen Minch he told me that he is so happy about the DVDs because the were recorded quite a time after Tommy wrote the books and on the DVDs you see a lot of improvements since then.

What you should also know is, even if it looks as Tommy would explain everythin in detail you will find out when you try to lern the tricks that a some point you miss something. If this is intentionally or not, but for some routine you will defenitly nee the books if you want to perform the tricks
Best
Tom