Price$19.95
Media TypeDVD
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedMar 15, 2007
Ambitious Card
Various
L&L Publishing
(Based on 1 review)
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
Reviews
(Top ▲)
The ambitious card is a classic of card magic. However, many would argue that it’s been done to death. You may agree with them when you begin to reach the end of this DVD, until you see Tommy Wonder’s routine get a standing ovation. What this DVD manages to accomplish is to show many people doing it somewhat poorly, and only a small handful doing it wonderfully.
Without a doubt, the two best routines on here are by David Regal and Wonder. David has a charming presentation where the spectators draw a puppy on the card, and call it to the top of the deck.
After that, we see Harry Lorayne rush through his routine and explanation. We next see Paul Wilson and Doc Eason perform passable versions of the effect. In their defense, they use the effect in the context in a larger set, and we only get to see the Ambitious sequence on this DVD. So seeing the routine out of context could be the explanation here.
Frank Garcia only shows us some moves to possibly add to our routine, so we don’t see a full routine from him. However, I hadn’t seen either moves before, so it was a nice breath of fresh air to see something different. Michael Ammar shows us a simple routine, although it does not add anything new or special.
The Professor closes out the DVD with more of a talk about how he used to do the effect. He doesn’t perform it, but the stories and advice he gives are fascinating.
Once again, I’ll say that Tommy Wonder’s performance and explanation are worth the price of the whole DVD. He shows how this effect can be made into a showpiece that garners a standing ovation. He explains many problems that exist in most Ambitious Card Routines, all of which we have seen in other performances throughout the DVD. Whether L&L did this on purpose or not is a mystery.
Long story short, if you love the Ambitious Card, and want to see many different takes on it, then this is the DVD for you. Otherwise, just get Tommy’s DVD set, and get ALL stellar magic.
Without a doubt, the two best routines on here are by David Regal and Wonder. David has a charming presentation where the spectators draw a puppy on the card, and call it to the top of the deck.
After that, we see Harry Lorayne rush through his routine and explanation. We next see Paul Wilson and Doc Eason perform passable versions of the effect. In their defense, they use the effect in the context in a larger set, and we only get to see the Ambitious sequence on this DVD. So seeing the routine out of context could be the explanation here.
Frank Garcia only shows us some moves to possibly add to our routine, so we don’t see a full routine from him. However, I hadn’t seen either moves before, so it was a nice breath of fresh air to see something different. Michael Ammar shows us a simple routine, although it does not add anything new or special.
The Professor closes out the DVD with more of a talk about how he used to do the effect. He doesn’t perform it, but the stories and advice he gives are fascinating.
Once again, I’ll say that Tommy Wonder’s performance and explanation are worth the price of the whole DVD. He shows how this effect can be made into a showpiece that garners a standing ovation. He explains many problems that exist in most Ambitious Card Routines, all of which we have seen in other performances throughout the DVD. Whether L&L did this on purpose or not is a mystery.
Long story short, if you love the Ambitious Card, and want to see many different takes on it, then this is the DVD for you. Otherwise, just get Tommy’s DVD set, and get ALL stellar magic.