This is the second volume in the recently released set of DVDs from Guy Hollingworth.

If you have not seen the review for the first volume, entitled 'The London Collection', read that first because some references in this may not make sense.

The box matches the other two volumes in this set: it is a two-piece metal case with the title on the lid, a photo of Guy on the bottom piece explaining a bit of the history of the original release and this update. Inside is a plastic insert to hold the disc securely and there is no ad copy.

Compared to the first disc this one was, by leaps and bounds, much better than the first as far as the sound quality goes. There were a couple of spots where it got really low in quality, but for the most part, it was good.

The video quality from the older footage looked quite good also - much better than you would expect from old VHS footage and it certainly beat the 'Original Footage' section of the 'London Collection' video.

I really enjoyed the format again with this disc because the original footage on this disc gave you a documentary-style feel. This one was a bit more like a daily log and if they had named this "A Day in the Life of Guy Hollingworth", that would also have been appropriate. It follows guy throughout his day, first starting in his backyard and taking you all over the city as he visits various places. In each place, he discusses/performs a particular effect and then you are taken to yet another location where you watch the explanation.

This video is in color, unlike the first one, which was done in black & white. The B&W aspect was not bad, it was just simply an artistic choice.

I said the same thing about 'The London Collection' and I will say it here: I love this format and I wish more magic DVDs were like this; it was very entertaining to watch, beyond seeing the very good magic performed.

Now, the learning (read: explanations) sections were great on this disc because you could actually hear and see what was going on. Yet again, Guy is a very good teacher and does an excellent job in teaching the material. What I particularly enjoyed was the explanation of why he chose to use a particular move or sleight as opposed to something else, or why he changed certain things to his current ('current' meaning at the time the original films were made) way of doing them.

Something the original video did not do (even though the performance format was slightly different): You did not learn the name of the effect as it was performed (and you would not have heard it if it was explained due to the lack of good sound). As I previously mentioned, the formate of this video is more like a page out of a daily journal and as you watch, the names of the effects pop up, along with the typical journal entry of what the event was, along with the date and time of day. As an example: "Oil & Water; Private garden party, Saturday 23rd April, 1999 2.30 PM" This not only tied into the format of the video, but you also knew what you were watching.

For the explanations, you also saw the title of the effect pop up again, leaving little doubt about what it was.

I mentioned that you could follow the 'London Collection' disc with the book, Drawing Room Deceptions in hand (for a different reason). The same holds true here but is not necessary. If you did follow it along with the book in hand, you would see how the original handlings were taught and then how the current versions compare when you watch the commentary section.

Again as with the 'London Collection' disc, the "commentary" is not quite like you might expect on a DVD as to its definition; usually you watch a clip and a voiceover is heard explaining the various things you are watching. In both the case of Volume One and on this volume, it is a section of modern footage of Guy sitting in his home and explaining the routines even further, giving you more hints and tips, more history and any and all updated handlings for the effects.

Time for a slight diversion: One of my all-time favourite card effects comes from Darwin Ortiz and is called "The Appointment in Samarra". It was based on a Guy Hollingworth effect called "The Cassandra Quandary", which is found in Drawing Room Deceptions and on the 'Routines' disc. Okay, back to the Hollingworth DVD...

'The Cassandra Quandary' is in itself a very good effect but as Guy explains, it is not the most commercial (read: angle-friendly) effect in his repertoire and he did not get a chance to perform it as often as he would have liked. In the commentary section, he explains the updated handling on this effect and oh! What a powerful effect! The original was already good, but the updated handling makes it not only easier, but more streamlined and very angle friendly without sacrificing any of the appearance of the original handling.

This is typical of the kinds of updates you will find in the commentary section here. There were a few spots in this section where the sound got pretty bad, but even though it was very low, it did not get muddled, so it did not really effect the ability to learn or understand the material.

As with the first volume, the main menu here is split up into two sections: The original 1999 release and the commentary section. The original footage has no sub-menu and plays straight through without a chapter selection option. The Commentary section is split up into chapters and if you watch them one at a time, they will return you to the commentary menu at the end of that chapter. You also have the option to watch the whole section with the 'Play All' button. The commentary here focused quite intently on the most complicated effect on this disc, which was the poker demonstration, and all of its sleights. You also will find a few more effects for which he explains the updated handlings. Everything else is pretty much still performed the same way as he explains it in the original footage. You also get to see a rather funny blooper clip.

Overall, this volume was very well put together. As I have already said, it was leaps and bounds ahead of Volume One in regards to the sound quality. As one might expect when you are familiar with the work of Guy Hollingworth, the material on this disc is very good and very strong.

I did mention that if you have the book that this material originally appeared in (called Drawing Room Deceptions), you could watch this disc with it in-hand. It is not necessary by any means, but should you like doing that as some people do, you may or may not benefit from that.

Again if I were to rate this disc on the quality and strength of the material, it was be five stars. The price was typical of a DVD and this certainly could have been sold at a higher price. Except for the few spots where the sound quality was bad, this was a great production...

I very highly recommend this!

4.5 stars.