Review :: Benjamin Earl's Past Midnight (Disc One)

Sep 1, 2007
1,529
1
32
San Francisco, CA
Hey guys,

This is my review of Benjamin Earl's Past Midnight Disc One DVD.

I'm not going to review the layout of the DVD, just the content.

Tricks
Ben Earl's unique take on many classics of card magic like Triumph and Collectors really made me open my eyes. His style is extremely smooth, and most of the content is best suited for table work.

In my opinion, the highlights of the DVD are Shades of Hofsinzer, Ace Assembly, Collectors 2, the Stroke Change, and the Loose Double Lift.

Shades of Hofsinzer
Everybody knows the Hofsinzer Ace trick. Basically, a card is selected, and the aces are removed. Magically, the ace with the corresponding suit disappears, leaving the previously chosen card in its place.

Ben's take on this effect is great. It's not too hard to do, but it's amazingly visual. Sadly, you don't end clean.

Ace Assembly
The 4 aces are placed on the table in the classic T formation. A quarter of the deck is dribbled on top of each of them. In the first packet, the ace jumps to the top. For the last three, the ace goes through its packet, through the first packet, through the first ace, and up to the top.

The handling is so simple, and there are really only 2 sleights. They are extremely easy to do, and I was cleanly performing this within half an hour of learning it.

Collectors 2
I love this trick. L-O-V-E. It's a bit difficult, and you have to get the angles down, but once you do it looks great. The method is something I have never seen before, and it fools more every time I do it.
I've found a way to merge this with Collector's Edition from Simply Sydney, and it has become very strong.

Stroke Change
Wow. This color change completely fooled me the first time I saw it. Ben's subtleties and grace with cards makes this look amazing. The change is nothing new, but the way Ben presents it makes it so visual. Go watch the trailer, you'll see what I mean.
The change isn't too hard, but you need to be confident with a certain sleight before you can pull it off. You also need larger hands, so all you 10 year olds are out. Sorry!

Loose DL
This is a very clean DL, and as the title says, it looks very loose and natural. It's hard to do smoothly, and it takes a lot of practice, but it looks so clean when you can get it down.

If you guys have any questions, feel free to post on this thread or hit me up with a PM.

Peace,

David
 
Sep 5, 2007
48
0
Cyprus
Collectors 2 really fooled me. It is simple and A M A Z I N G!!

i couldnt recomend this DVD set more... It is probably the best set i have, better than the trilogy (for my own style)
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,572
2
34
Leicester, UK
www.youtube.com
Collectors 2. Definitely - Floored me 100% the first time I saw it.

Just to comment on the Stroke Change, if you have small hands it won't stop you from learning and practicing it but it will make it slightly harder.

Prophecy Shift I definitely don't think should be looked over. It seems so simple, but if you've got the attentive kind of spectator who really wants to see your magic it's perfect. The set-up is really something easy to get into if you're proficient at culling or don't mind openly sorting things out.

The effect is this:

The spectator shuffles the deck and you explain that you're going to try and contrive a coincidence or some feeling of déjà vu. You riffle down the deck to have them select a card, lets say it's a red ace. They then stick the card anywhere into the deck and leave it outjogged, when you spread the deck and show the cards either side of it, they are a black king and a Joker. Here is where the coincidence occurs - You riffle down the side of the deck, and manage to cut to a red ace... Strange? You then 'cause the ace to go searching for two cards and when the deck is spread, you guessed it, the two cards either side of the ace are a black king and a Joker.

It's really something astonishing because they shuffle the deck and when you have the final display of cards at the end. Well *thumbs up* s'all good yo'.

- Sean
 
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