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Details

The Unexpected

Spelmann and Nardi

Inner Mind Productions

(Based on 1 review)
Disc One

Fist Full Of Dollars

An incredible opener for any impromptu situation. Give your spectator a chance to win some cold hard cash. All they have to do is guess which hand holds the money! They will never win! As a kicker you prove to them you knew they would choose the wrong hand from the start.

Drinks On The Patio
A great little performance piece to do when you're in a bar. A lovely lady is requested to help out and as a thank you will buy her a drink. The drink she gets depends on how well she does in the little test.

Take Note
Your spectator takes part in a little game of chance. 3 notes of different values are placed on the table. You write a prediction on a business card which remains on full view through out. Now using your powers of persuasion you manage to influence their choice of note!

Perfect ESP
A quick & simple ESP match up routine. Even though your spectator mixes the cards. You always place your card down first and you can even do this facing away from your spectator! No- one a head, marked cards or extra cards involved used!

Single Handed Geller
Marc's ultra slick one handed coin bend. This is something that you will carry with you always!

Underhand Thoughts
An unbelievable impromptu drawing duplication that will get you out of trouble!

Three For The Money
A 3 Phase performance piece which highlights your ability to predict your spectators actions. Each phase gets increasingly more difficult yet you prove your power with 3 correct predictions!

Disc Two

A Tribute To Mr Kane
This is an Impromptu version of Kane's variant. A great gambling effect using only 5 business cards and some money.

Feel
A spectator holds an imaginary object in their cupped hands. You now concentrate and tell them exactly what they are holding!

Serial Killer Lite
Your spectator removes a bill from their wallet and folds it up, they then place it under an upturned wine glass. You can then call off the serial number.

Three For The Money
A three phase performance piece. Each phase gets increasingly more difficult, yet you prove your power with 3 correct predictions! Which coin they will choose, the amount of change they have and finally the serial number on a borrowed bill.

Busch Brain Buster
No DVD on mentalism would be complete without a book, magazine or newspaper test. This superb 2 phased routine has been used by Spelmann and Nardi even in their paid performances utilizes a fantastic subtlety from Richard Busch. Reveal a freely chosen word from any newspaper, book or magazine & describe an item your spectator has locked in their mind!

Two's Company
A discussion on utilizing a friend, partner or family member to code you simple information.

DVD 1 Running Time Approximately 116min

DVD 2 Running Time
Approximately 126min

(2 DVD set)

Reviews

Joe Diamond

Official Reviewer

Sep 24, 2010

This 2 DVD set offers a collection of impromptu mentalism from Peter Nardi and Marc Spelman. Impromptu mentalism is very valuable information. After all, if you are a real mind reader, you shouldn’t need any props, right? I was hoping this would offer some fresh ideas, methods, and effects in an area of magic and mentalism that is kind of lacking. However, not all of the routines are strictly impromptu. Many require you to gather some materials and write on them before you start the performance. This is not always a bad thing, just something to keep in mind. Also, I’ve had a hard time trying to figure out whether the material is worth the $65 price tag.

The effects themselves are just uses for standard principles like the PATEO force, multiple outs, equivoque, the one-ahead principle, bill switching, coin switching and two person codes. While I’m not saying the effects produced are bad, I just feel like some effects feel unfinished, or they go on for longer than they should.

The quality of the DVDs themselves are top notch, however I think the material on both discs could have been put on one. Both Nardi and Spelman seem like nice guys, and you can tell they enjoy working with each other because they end up talking longer than they should and they joke around a lot. Again, if they had stayed more focused, the material could have easily fit on one disc.

While some effects and ideas are just ok, there are a few real gems on here. Perfect ESP is definitely the best effect in this collection. It’s short, clear, and looks exactly like a real ESP experiment. Both men focus on the ‘psychological side’ of mentalism, much like Derren Brown. You can see his influence on these two men, not only in their choice of material, but in their presentations as well.

If you are a mentalist who likes to go the straight psychic route, you should maybe skip this, and buy a book on cold reading or contact mind reading. This way you will have a genuine skill that you can rely on rather than needing to go off and write on several pieces of paper before actually performing something.

If you are a magician who really values impromptu work, this is worth your consideration. You will definitely pick up one or two things to keep in the back of your mind for when you are asked to perform in impromptu settings. I’ll let you decide if that’s worth the asking price.

For me, if the material was of a higher quality, or if the price was lower, I’d give this a better rating. Three stars is the most generous I can be.
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