Richard Osterlind - Mind Mysteries - Volume 1 The Act
This is the first part in a hopeful series of reviews of the entire set. I'll put links to the other volumes up once they have been tried out and the reviews have been written. I hope to eventually review the second set as well, 'Mind Mysteries Too' but please be patient, as these reviews take a lot of time as you can imagine! While I respect the work Richard, Jim and L&L have put into these, and they have all been more than helpful to me, I have no monetary interest here, and these are my genuine opinions, which I hope are as unbiased as possible.
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Vol 1 - The Act - http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic37544.php
Vol 2 - The BCS (Breakthrough Card System) - http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic37627.php
Vol 3 - Assorted Mysteries - http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic37564.php
Vol 4 - More Assorted Mysteries
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Price: Approx £25-£30
Available from: Alakazam Magic, L&L Publishing, WorldMagicShop, & Others
It's a rare thing when one of mentalism's leading minds divulges the secrets to his professional act-the material he's been earning a living with for decades. Yet, on this volume of an extraordinary video series, that's exactly what Richard Osterlind does - sharing not only the methods, but the fine details, of the powerhouse effects he's been wowing corporate and trade show audiences all over the world with. Watch him amaze the audience in performance and then go behind the scenes as Osterlind, along with host Jim Sisti, shows you how it's all done.
Bank Night - Osterlind's original, tried and proven version of a classic, complete with a commercial kicker that will endear you to any audience. A great opener for any act!
My Thoughts: I didn’t like this routine, until I did it, now I use it constantly, not as an opener as I had to make some changes to avoid having to shell out on Osterlind’s ‘commercial kicker’ (I know cheapskate!) but this is a very easy way to do this routine and you have nothing to worry about. Has a lot of scope for comedy, do you want to switch etc. The best thing is that the spectators open the envelopes themselves, and the final person has a choice to switch. Very easy to do, and actually quite fun to perform. This routine has lots of potential for 'Psychological' swings, and in my opinion is a much better version than some of the more standard 'Just Chance' routines, which use strange props (How many people do you know that just 'happen' to have a die on them!), Osterlind's touches make this a better version than Maven's GoldMine, especially if you use his kicker at the end.
(9/10)
The Perfected Center Tear - Complete instruction in the ultimate version of Osterlind's legendary center tear, which can be done in slow motion and completely surrounded. You rip up the paper...and return all of the pieces!
My Thoughts: The legendary move itself, explained in full detail and performed during the act. In my opinion whilst technically perfected, the peek is very apparent to anybody paying half attention to the performer and will need some clever thinking to hide, but it’s a center tear with an in-built peek, what more could you want! I think that Osterlind could have elaborated on the reveal a little bit more, to provide some time misdirection from handling the billet to the reveal of the information. Combining this technique with some of Banachek's subtelties about making them imagine various letters and then steering them towards them, this could be a killer stage effect, and play much bigger than it does.
(9/10)
Radar Deck - Four spectators just think of a card and the performer names them all! The full workings and never-before-disclosed handling tips are here, including instructions on how to make your own Radar Deck.
My Thoughts: I love the Radar Deck and had actually been using it for about a year before I saw this tape, strangely I think the booklet will help you to learn the effect much quicker than the video, although the performance subtelties and patter you see from Richard help massively when you are performing the routine. This is a killer effect, and another staple of my cabaret act. You can make this deck up yourself, as Osterlind and Sisti tip full mechanics and secret's behind the gimmick, but where this routine really shines is in Osterlind's tips about how to get the information. The basic idea which starts this routine of is great and could easily be adapted into a number of other routines, and this is exactly what Richard does in his 'No Camera Tricks' DVD Set.
(10/10)
Watch Routine - One spectator thinks of a time while another turns the hands of a face-down watch. When the watch is turned over, it's found to display the first spectator's thought-of time. Perform this miracle anywhere, anytime...and with any watch!
My Thoughts: Wow, everything you have heard is true! , A borrowed business card, a borrowed watch, a borrowed pen, a miracle. Very easy to do, and absolutely killer, with 2 in-built climaxes, the second significantly stronger than the first. This routine just looks simply impossible. There is a line Richard says in the explanation which I would have to disagree with however, in that people DO notice THAT, at least British people, and so should try one of the other alternative methods he offers. I do not use this routine as I opted for Max Maven’s Synchronicity which I prefer simply because it’s much bolder and fun to do, and has just as much kick. I also use the peek he teaches for something later, and so cannot use it twice. The routine plays very big considering the amount of props required and would easily fit into a much larger stage show, as compared to a cabaret act. I use this as a close up piece actually, without the additional reveal that Osterlind chooses to throw in on the Blackboard for an extra kick. This is fine on stage or cabaret, but the routine plays just as well when done close up.
(10/10)
Thought Scan - Originally marketed for $250.00, Osterlind's version of the classic Q&A routine is an act in itself. If one could actually read minds, it would look like this!
My Thoughts: You need Balls to do this, or at least the female equivalent. This is as bold and brazen as you can get, even for Q & A acts. While technically easy to do and master, this requires solid acting skills and a genuine belief in what you are doing, as well as a moral obligation to be respectful to the people you are working with. It’s not something I will use, as I have found ‘The Very Modern Mind reader’ and ‘The Final Answer’ more to my liking, but if you feel like you can pull it off, by all means try it out! You wont be dissapointed. Theres a lot of interesting history included in this routine about Dunninger and his techniques about 3-fold screens etc, which is well worth listening to if just for an extra bit of knowledge. The ThoughtScan board is fairly expensive considering what it is, although Richard and Jim go over several alternatives, as well as providing information on how the ThoughtScan apparatus works, should you feel inclined to purchase one, make one yourself, or get one made by a professional. (Providing you don't explain to them what it's for!)
(8/10)
Magazine Test - In this never-before-released miracle, the performer predicts the word a spectator will circle on a freely-selected page in a magazine. This was the finale for Richard Osterlind's act for many years.
My Thoughts: A beatiful closer using the bare minimum of props. Easy to do, plays huge and packs small. The magazine can be gimmicked in a matter of seconds, and the prediction can be mailed or in full view all the time, due to the ingenious method. There are a lot of performance and psychological points here that should be considered and looked at and taken in, as they will seriously improve your performance. Very good audience management is used in this routine. A little tip for UK performers of this routine is to NOT use the Radio-Times!, it has far too many pages, and you end up with egg on your face, trust me I speak from experience on this one... unfortunately.
(9/10)
Linking Finger Rings - Wedding bands borrowed from three spectators are linked together in the fairest manner possible. This routine has been called the very best version of this classic effect ever conceived and this is the clearest and most-detailed explanation of the real work.
My Thoughts: Thought by many to be the definitive version of the linking finger rings effect, and the one I personally use in my work, whilst this is a very cleverly routined piece, I’m not sure it is the best there is, and there is often a lot of movement behind the hands, as well as a very audacious move in there, which for some reason just seems to fly by, but doing it, you will feel a little naked. Very good instruction on how to perform the effect (as always), but a gimmick is required. The gimmick used is readily available, and well worth getting to do this routine. Osterlind also talks about exposing deliberately making reference to one mentalist who exposes the gimmick used in this routine in a Dunninger style fashion, who from his vauge description can only assume he's talking about Kreskin, if it isn't please let me know and I'll change this review. Personally I found it a little strange that Richard chose to close with this routine, and I would have switched this with the Magazine test, but I have heard that Richard explains his thinking behind this in the Guide-book for this volume, so anyone interested can look there.
(9/10)
OVERALL:
This DVD is solid, as is the whole collection, but then you knew that didn’t you? The first disc contains one of the most honed acts ever in our artform and should really be studied in detail to see all of the little points that make everything woek. The routines are very strong and because this is Richard’s act there is absolutely no filler whatsoever. Jim Sisti also provides helpful insight by asking the right questions at the right time and providing clarification and also serves as the interviewer during the disc’s bonus segments.
A heartily reccomended
10/10
Phillip Northfield 2010
They only costs about $1 each here in the States! 
, but I open with Swami Opener and am deliberately off by three, so when the envelope is opened it says;
