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World's Greatest Magic: Ambitious Card - DVD


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If you could have one set of magic DVDs, this would be it! This benchmark collection features just about all of magic's most enduring and classic effects and routines. It's a fabulous compendium with many of the top masters in the world of magic teaching their handlings and routines for some of magic's classics. Linking rings, sponge balls, mental bending, cups and balls, thumb tips, Zombie, color-changing knives, and many, many more topics are all gathered in this one terrific DVD reference set. Each volume covers a specific subject and features new, old, and sometimes rare footage by some of the top video producers in magic.

Conjuring historians have traced the origins of the Ambitious Card plot back to a French conjuror named Alberti who performed in the early 1800's but the idea of placing a card into the middle of the back and having it return to the top almost certainly occurred to card magicians prior to that. It definitely has intrigued magicians since then as just about every performer with cards since that time has included some version of this trick in their repertoire.

In this volume, you'll meet a variety of performers who have taken this very basic yet magical idea of a single playing card constantly rising to the top of the pack in some very clever and decidedly different directions. For example, David Regal leads off with his routine which transmogrifies an ordinary playing card into a puppy that always responds to the voice of its master. You'll see and learn Harry Lorayne's routine which first saw print in his classic Close-Up Card Magic performed and taught by the man himself. Frank Garcia offers some clever moves that are ready to be implemented into your own routine while Michael Ammar demonstrates a routine that would compliment the repertoire of any card worker. Doc Eason is up next with his take, a high point of his bar set, while Paul Wilson, Al Schneider and the inimitable Tommy Wonder perform and teach their routines which all end up with the card appearing in a totally unexpected and magical place. Finally, Dai Vernon's reminiscence about the origins of his timeless routine from Stars of Magic is the perfect way to round out this Ambitious Card extravaganza.

It's been said that the Ambitious Card may be the most magical thing you can perform with a deck of cards, and with this DVD and the classic routines and performers it offers, you'll never be at a loss for yet another way to make the spectator's card come to the top of the deck as if by magic.

  • Tenacious Climber - David Regal
  • Ambitious Card - Harry Lorayne
  • Ambitious Card - Frank Garcia
  • Ambitious Card - Michael Ammar
  • Ambitious Card to Wallet - Paul Wilson
  • Ambitious Card - Doc Eason
  • Ambitious Card and Card to Card Case - Al Schneider
  • Ambitious Card Plus Ring Box - Tommy Wonder
  • Ambitious Card Story - Dai Vernon

Running Time Approximately 2hr 6min

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Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 7th, 2010
I would say this and Daryls Ambitious card routine DVD, are all you need for your ambitious card repertoire. This DVD covers so much material and includes so many nice nuances and subtleties- infact it's worth getting just for the tips never mind the sleights!
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Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 2nd, 2010
If you don't know what "taking a double" means or you don't know an Ambitious Card Routine (ACR) then you're probably not ready for this DVD. I would suggest purchasing Born to Perform Card Magic with Oz Pearlman which will provide you with a foundation in card magic and also teach you a basic ACR. Then buy this DVD! Even if you are a beginner the performances on this DVD will inspire you to learn.

For the newbie magician, an ACR consists of a very simple plot; place a signed card in the middle of the deck and it magically rises to the top of the deck. Each sequence in the ACR seems more impossible than the one before. Like the famous Cups and Balls routine, magicians have created many variations and climaxes over the years.

Degree of Difficulty
Moderate to Impossible. This DVD is targeted to someone with intermediate card handling skills. I would still recommend this to a beginner because there is so much to learn including the psychology of magic. The DVD does teach the basic routine so you can learn the ACR from this DVD. However, this is squarely aimed at the magician who is looking to interject some new life into their ACR.

One note on Tommy Wonder's climax sequence with the ring box. His sleight for bending a card into eighths in about 1.5 seconds will blow you away - he warns you that it will take a minimum of 50 decks of cards to achieve and perhaps as many as 200 decks to perfect the move!

Teaching
The teaching is outstanding. My favorites are Regal, Ammar and Tommy Wonder. Wonder's ACR is brilliant and he goes through the routine in detail. The real jewel here is Wonder's focus on the psychology. I just can't say enough good things about Wonder. Sadly, Tommy Wonder died in 2006.

Wonder's routine has a very slow, deliberate pace and he really does a great job of teaching why. Clearly he has perfected the timing, humor and subtle narrative that delights the spectators. Thirty plus years of perfecting the ACR and he reveals it in wonderful detail. It's a good contrast to Lorayne's lightening fast routine.

Card tricks do not get better than this.

Production Quality

Solid production values. There is some old video footage that is limited by the age of the taping technology. The newer footage is top notch. The DVD menuing is excellent.

Ok, I've already gushed enough over this DVD. The performances and teaching are simply superb.
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Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on March 20th, 2018
Great DVD! There is so much that can be said about the "Ambitious Card". This DVD offers tons of ideas for changing, or improving upon your own routine. If you're a fan of the Ambitious Card, you'll be a fan of this DVD.
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Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 21st, 2010
If you want to learn all the ins and outs of the ambitious card routine this is the bomb. Some work by the top pro's here. Doc Eason and Tommy Wonder have some fantastic material in this DVD and the price is very good. If you want to put together a great routine all the pieces are in this DVD. Add to cart.
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