No Camera Tricks

THE BLURB:
What magic and mentalism on television should look like!

This incredible video set features Richard Osterlind as the
star of three mock television shows. Watch Richard dazzle
the audience with real-time, mind-boggling mysteries and, as
the title of the set implies, there are absolutely no camera
tricks, stooges or pre-show work! What’s more, this
broadcast-quality material can also be used on stage and for
close-up performances.

These are secrets of the highest quality with everything
from the latest innovative ideas from the fertile mind of
Richard Osterlind to some of the most cherished hidden
mysteries from other masters. Not only will you receive a
wealth of astonishing and usable material, but it is
presented in one of the most entertaining formats ever
attempted in the magic instructional DVD genre. This is
Richard Osterlind at his highest performing level!

Additionally, you will see the commercial “bumpers” that
feature Richard performing live in a restaurant and other
public places,. real time performing under real world
conditions! See why Richard always shines in the numerous
other “bonuses” contained on each disc!

Disc 1 - Show One

ZODIAC REVOLUTION - Bob Farmer's classic zodiac sign
revelation done in a new way that will startle you in its
directness. Richard guesses the zodiac signs of six audience
members using nothing but a pad and pencil!

SWAMI BIRTHDAY/STENO ESP - Richard correctly guesses a
person's exact birthday and follows that by predicting the
random thoughts of three audience members. In this second
demonstration, no forcing is involved and all three choices
are totally free!

LIQUID METAL - Richard continues his metal bending legacy
with five (yes . . . five!) more demonstrations of spoon
bending. In one, a spoon actually visibly bends in the
spectator's hand!

DIGITAL FEEDBACK EXTRAORDINAIRE - A digital calculator
effect that duplicates the gimmicked versions using a
legitimate calculator right out of the package in a drug
store! You can throw away your forcing calculators as this
does the same thing!

PEGASUS PAGE - Richard considers this to be one of the
greatest effects in magic! With the permission of Art
Emerson, the original Pegasus Page is presented to a stunned
group of spectators. A selected page vanishes from a book
being held by one person and reappears between two pieces of
cardboard held by another spectator!

Disc 2 - Show Two

RICHARDWAVE - Brainwave has always been considered one of
magic's best effects. Here is Richard's version where any
card named is the only red-backed card in a blue deck. To
top it off, there's a "kicker" that adds another 100% to the
effect-the deck is given away at the end! It is totally
ordinary!

RUBIK'S CUBE - You won't believe your eyes as you watch
Richard solve a legitimate Rubik's Cube-while totally
blindfolded!

CLEARLY MIND READING - Another one of Richard's fabulous
ideas for doing a complete thought reading act! This is a
"new" idea that Richard published over 20 years ago and is
basically unknown!

THE POKER DEAL - Watch Richard use his Breakthrough Card
System to perform a poker demonstration that looks like it
came out of the movie The Sting!

SEAFIRE SEQUENCE - For the first time, Richard presents his
famous Seafire Sequence book test on video. Now you can see
this classic effect performed with all the little nuances!
There are over six separate climaxes!

Disc 3 - Show Three

DRACULA/ERRATA BOOKTEST - The Dracula book test by Alexander
Black is fully explained and combined with Richard's now
famous Errata ending. See how incredible this combination of
effects is!

20 CARD TEST - This long-forgotten effect from The Jinx made
Al Koran famous. Twenty people select cards and Richard
finds them all while completely blindfolded! It's an
anytime, any deck miracle!

THE ORIGINAL TCB ROUTINE - Richard performs a classic piece
of mentalism that brings down the house! Seven people select
objects from a transparent bag and everything is predicted!
You will understand why Richard loves the classics!

VOODOO - This eerie and forgotten piece of magic is
performed at midnight on the back deck of the L&L studios in
a chilling demonstration different than anything you have
seen before!

THE ACID TEST - Not for the weak of heart! Richard performs
his classic Acid Test where, while totally blindfolded, he
drinks the one glass of milk from among four others filled
with Liquid Drano! See how Richard builds the suspense and
shows how this type of "death-defying" mystery should look!

3-volume boxed set in fold-out keepsake packaging

PLUS! Numerous performance sequences on each disc featuring
Richard amazing people in restaurants, stores and other
public places.

BONUS DVD

An incredibly funny and amazing Hypnotism Show plus 4
powerful mentalism routines performed and fully explained!

HYPNOSIS SHOW - Watch Richard Osterlind as he performs a
complete hypnosis show right in the L&L studios! You will
roll with laughter as Richard shows how a classic hypnotism
show should look. Although no explanation section is given,
serious students will learn from watching a lifetime of
experience at work. You will see all the little nuances
starting with the warm-up, to the induction process and then
into some great routines right out of the works of Ormond
McGill. All along, you will see how Richard is his totally
tasteful self and the consummate performer! This is the way
a hypnotism show should look and it's also one of the
funniest magic DVDs you will ever see! (Performance only.)

DOUBLE DOWN - With his permission, Bryn Reynolds's Double
Down is presented to a group in an informal gathering at the
dining room table. See how direct and entertaining this new
miracle of mentalism is! (Performance and explanation.)

FLASHY READ - A new update on Richard's classic Bic Lighter
Switch is fully performed. You will see the incredible
reaction the routine gets and learn the exact handling of
this perfect switch! (Performance and explanation.)

QUADRUPLITEAR - Here is an idea from the files of Al Mann
updated into a complete routine. Richard discussed this
variation with Al many years ago and now shows just how it
is a complete routine. In addition, you will see the
Dunninger Pad in action! This alone is a complete course in
mentalism. (Performance and explanation.)

INCREDIBLE MIND READING - If you thought you knew all the
billet reading methods, think again! Here Richard performs a
forgotten idea that was never really explored. You will see
him create an effect that transcends many of the incredibly
high-priced billet moves now available with an idea that
works under even tighter conditions! You will be amazed!
(Performance and explanation.)

RUNNING TIME: 1 HOUR 38 MINUTES - INCLUDES 40-MINUTE
HYPNOSIS SHOW PLUS 4 FULLY EXPLAINED ROUTINES

MY COMMENTS:
This is definitely an incredible collection of mentalism
material with something for everyone, especially Osterlind
fans. Personally, I loved Steno ESP, 20 Card Test, The
Original TCB Routine, RichardWave, Seafire Sequence, and, of
course, the Pegasus Page (mostly because I do use Hilford's
Wizards' Manual, a version of Pegasus Page, in my regular
act). And most know that you can rely on Richard Osterlind
to always give you wonderful, tested material that is
professional and effective. So for me to recommend this set
is almost a moot point.

That said, it's inevitable to ask how it compares to
Richard's earlier discs. It may seem to be a somewhat
unfair comparison, but the question has come up. Okay, here
goes. Frankly, this set is not as good as Richard
Osterlind's other video sets. But bear with me. I'm not
saying this is a DVD set that's unworthy of your time or
money. Far from it. The material here is excellent. But
let's face it. Richard set the bar for mentalism DVDs in
terms of the sheer quantity of incredible, workable, and
professional material. The Mind Mysteries set seemed to
exhaust Richard's more well-known original material and
included the material that he makes his living from. That
material is brilliant and very strong. The Easy-To-Master
Mind Miracles set presented Richard's favorite classics.
These three DVD sets can be considered to be a video primer
for mentalists. This new collection of material, when
compared against the earlier ten DVD volumes, just doesn't
seem as strong. Think of it this way: The first volumes were
great. This is merely excellent.

Here's the important thing: Even though this set is not as
great as Richard's earlier ones, but still excellent, it's
far better than most other collections of mentalism that
have been released this year or any year. Also, I wouldn't
recommend this set as one's first set of Richard Osterlind
DVDs. For novice or inexperienced mentalists, start with
the Easy-To-Master Mind Miracles. For those more experienced
or those who want more of Richard's signature items, start
with the Mind Mysteries videos. I'd recommend getting this
wonderful set only AFTER you've gotten the others. Also,
Richard covers a lot of the basics of mentalism in those
earlier sets, which he only touches on in this new one.
This is not to say you shouldn't, or can't, get this first.
There's nothing wrong with starting here. But, if I were to
give my recommendations, which I am, I'd have to say to
start your DVD collection of Richard's material with one of
his other DVD sets.

Okay, let's move on now to the conceit of this series. In
this, Richard shows us how mentalism should be performed on
television, which is without camera tricks, without stooges,
and without pre-show work of any kind. Certainly, that's an
opinion that many don't share, but Richard sets out to prove
his convictions with this collection. However, these are
Richard's general beliefs and he already proved it on his
previous Mind Mysteries DVDs, though he may not have
emphasized it (a need Richard obviously feels compelled to
do in the light of certain recent TV specials). Also, since
the material here isn't quite as strong as his other
material (though still excellent stuff, may I remind you),
I'm not so sure he'll be able to convince the
magician-turned-mentalist who hasn't adopted the correct
mindset and probably is unwilling to do so. I'd love to be
wrong on that.

I really hate to be critical as it sounds like just nitpicky
whining and for the most part I suppose it is. But these
are answers to questions that I know mentalists have asked
about this DVD set and so I answer them. I really do like
this DVD set and think it's one of the best mentalism DVDs
to come out this year, if not any year besides ones which
had the other Richard Osterlind DVDs. And this is why I am
serious about recommending other Osterlind DVDs as your
starting point. Then again, if you already have Richard's
earlier DVDs, then you don't need me to tell you that you
should get this one. Highly recommended, of course.

Please note that you get a bonus disc of material that's
included with this that contains a few more effects,
including Bryn Reynold's Double Down.