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This is a great DVD. I love how you can watch the whole of his show, and try and work it out before going on the disc 2 for the secrets. Its like a magic show in your own room! I bought this after seeing John's fantastic bank night routine on Penn and Tellers 'Fool us'. The other effects are not as good but this one on its own is worth the price of the DVD. All of the effects are only really suitable for stage performers, but even if you just do close up it is a great watch! It is very easy to navigate and the tricks are all explained very well.
Further Education is the latest material compilation DVD from John Archer's working repertoire. The routines (for the uninitiated) feature comedy mentalism that John performs on stage but some (if not all) of the routines are adaptable for close-up. All are high on magical content as well as being funny. I would qualify this review by saying that John is a close friend, although not that close as I didn't actually know he'd released a new DVD until I went in search of his Bank Night routine called "Blank Night" the trick that fooled Penn and Teller on the tele. For those with very busy lives this 2 DVD set is more than value for money - go buy it. For those with less busy diaries (or personal interest in this project) I will continue. Disc 1 is the live performance of the material that is explained on Disc 2. There are eight routines, 6 are fully explained with the other two being discussed in detail but the methods are not divulged because they feature commercially available props. In additional (as a bonus) there are three close-up effects that are all fully explained. All of this material John works in the real world meaning in effect he is tipping a large chunk of his commercial act. As the title suggests this is a follow on from John's previous DVD Educating Archer with one of the routines being a large venue presentation of a routine featured in the earlier DVD. This gives you the working of an envelope that does the job of the previously used wallet which some had said they were having problems finding. For me the cost of the DVD's is more than covered by the inclusion of the Blank Night routine (with PDF included so you can make up the envelopes) and a DIY Add-it (number) pad that is genius in its simplicity. John Archer fans will I'm sure be happy with his latest offering. A criticism by the neutral observer may be that overall the material isn't as strong as his previous DVD and the stage setting for the live performance is somewhat disappointing. But for me the material scores on quality over quantity and the stage setting is used by John for very good comic effect. As a bonus John also includes his commercial close-up set. The three routines covered represent more commercial material then you would find on many DVD's dedicated to the subject. So I would recommend Archie's latest offering but it comes with a warning; you don't get to be as good as John Archer by simply watching his DVD but it's a very good place to start the journey.
Just received Further Education. I am a big John Archer fan, however I am disappointed with this latest offering. Some of the effects are excellent, well thought out and would be usable for most close up or stage shows. Blank night is good but now everyone has seen it on tv it looses some appeal for the real worker. Main disapointment was with some of the routines, Soundbox (requires you to purchase "supalok" a gimmicked lock which is very expensive at £134.99 although other locks are available). Comedy Killer is almost identical to the routine in Educating Archer, Starstruck requires a lot of preperation and time to make the cards and Streetwise is really an advert to buy the gimmicked book at £95! The two close up bonus tricks are good but even those require you to make additional purchases from your magic dealer. The dvd shows John Archer in fine comedic form and is very entertaining to watch. excellent production but I would like better routines that don't break the bank and are accessible to all.
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