I was curious if Aldo Colombini's Impromptu Card Magic dvd's was a good source to get some really good self working card magic.I was needing some input I ordered the dvds.

Thanks

Anything from Aldo is excellent, whether physical books, e-books, DVDs, contributions to journals,etc.

Not all of his magic is "self-working". But, there are no knuckle busting sleights.

अहिंसा

Vlad

You will find some classic plots in that.You definitely can apply some in your routine. But not all are very strong. You'd better to check some review about the routine. I only watched 1-3. And I have Vol 2 which is good in my opinion.

I would respectfully offer a few observations.

First: "Strong" depends upon presentation, not just plot. You can annihilate with a seemingly simple card location.

Second: "Strong" is highly subjective. Many people consider Sam the Bellhop as a strong effect. It well may be with the right performer. The effect for ME however does NOT play AT ALL. (caps for emphasis)

Third: Again, a subjective opinion - how post-modern that is of me - but, in my experience, I have found Aldo Colombini's magic to be uniformly strong. Again, that is a subjective opinion and there is nothing wrong with Zhoudumu's advice. For me however, I have reached a stage where if I see names like Lorayne, Colombini, Cummins, Morphew, Fehr, Marini, Roth, Duffie, Francis, Bannon - to name but a few - I buy with full confidence based upon their reputation.

I have virtually all of Aldo's e-books, physical books, and since I own a ton of journals from the US and the UK, I have a lot of his work from those sources as well. I suppose I have an affinity for Aldo's magic. Maybe because I am Italian?

My all time favorite approach however to Kane's Jazz Aces is Italian Serenade by Aldo Colombini. You can find it in one of the VERY few one man issues of Apocalypse.

Aldo Colombini stands as one of magic's GREATS because he is a thinking magician and knows very well what works in the real world. He will also tell you when HE thinks an effect is less than earth shattering. I think the best authors do that. Harry Lorayne is much the same. I am always wary of authors who state that EVERY effect in their books are absolutely the best.

There is an author I shall not name here whose work I DO like. However, in one of his books, he blatantly states that all a magician would need are HIS books and no others. I no longer buy his books. I do not buy them because I am not only wary of extreme hyperbole but I also find it insulting to other authors.

अहिंसा

Vlad

I haven't seen Aldo's, but I do recommend Mike Maxwell's INCREDIBLE SELF-WORKING CARD MAGIC DVD's.

What you get with Aldo's DVDs, are value for money. Most of the DVDs contain ten routines, demonstrated in his easy going and humorous style. Think of them as ten spingboards, on which you can easily jump on and add your own spin or style.
There is nothing more technical than a DL or a count. Great magic and great value!

Willy.

I was underwhelmed. In my opinion, much of Aldo's own stuff and the things he chooses for compilations like the Impromptu Card Magic DVD's is merely so-so. Often there are procedure driven tricks (down-under deals and the like), which tend to be boring and not to be very magical. Your mileage may.

Count me as a fan of Aldo's work. I own the Impromptu DVDs, alomg with several other sets of his. Yes, there are some down-under deal type tricks, but if you can't find some great, simple, and impactful tricks on everything he puts out, then you're just not looking hard enough. If you are a beginner or an intermediate performer then you will get great value from Aldos work. That's my opinion anyway. You'll need to get his DVDs and decide for yourself.

Regards,
Ron

T have gotten a few things from Aldo like ring and rope magic and its been really good. I am a fan of his rope magic,he makes it fun he is funny in my opinion. Thanks for everyones responses

mtstic44

Who needs DVD's for self-working card tricks anyway? There's not much to see on them. You're much better off with some of the well known books on the topic: the Giobbi Light series, Scarne on Cards, the Fulves books, to name a few. Better prices and many more tricks you can choose from.

On his website he has a bunch of self working and/or easy to do card magic dvd and books for only $10.


http://www.wildcolombini.com

As a reply to Mr Vlad. I will say all materials if performed by Aldo Colombini should be strong, because he know his materials very well. But let's face it, not all tricks itself is that strong. Of cause if you find a very good presetation, it can be. But some tricks even in very bland perform style it still will be very strong. That is what we call classic.

We always hear that "there is no bad trick". This maybe right in a certain way. But in general there are bad tricks honestly. It is not only my opinion. It is said by some famous magicians.

Ok. that is just my understading about tricks. It definitely not related to Aldo's work. There is no bad trick in his work. But I have to say some are good but not very good .

Again I am try to give advice in a very objective way so that I can help people.I will not easily say if it is from Aldo it should be good or bad. My opinion is based on my memory form I watched the vol 1-3 long time ago. Because I can not remember everything, that is why I suggested him to check some review first.

One thing I am sure is that Vol 2 definitely worth every penny I paid. As I said there are a lot of classic plots and can be used very easily. That is why I bought this one not vol 1 or vol 3, which probably is not as good as vol 2. Again I could be wrong because it is a long time ago.

But I still remember there are some similar small tricks I do not think you need them all. And there should be some better version for some tricks elsewhere.

I do not agree Uli Weigel's opinion that Aldo's material are all so-so. This is based on the 3 DVDs I watched, not the total set (6 or 9 DVDs, not very sure). But one thing I agree with him is that you do not need to have so many DVDs . From what I watched there are definitely better version tricks elsewhere. The books he suggested are all classic as they are often mentioned in the Caf, though I do not have them at all. I admit I learned most tricks from DVD. I really think if back in time, I should start by reading some books, because self-working card tricks are not that hard to understand and it will be less expernsive than the DVD.

I don't have a whole lot more to add to this except to say as pure hobby for me, Aldo's material is just perfect. I know who I am (and who I am not).
So when I do some card magic for friends and relatives, material by Also and Rachel goes over very well. I spend my energy on presentation.

For me, Aldo's DVD's usually give me 2-4 really good card tricks, that I can do with some modest practice. I think the key to what he gives you is it's the basics. You need to add your own style and personality, your patter, your own humor. I have many of his e-books, dvd's and magic tricks. You cannot go worng with his material, and his way of taeching you.

Go to the website, http://www.wildcolombini.com

There is a huge amount of material. Pick a few DVD's, right now you get I free E-book with every item purchased. So you'll end up with 2 dvd's (20 tricks total),plus 2 e-books (with 15-25 tricks per book). That's 35-45 tricks...plenty to get a good start!

Thanks for the link to the colombini web site. Are the ebooks as good as the DVDs? Which do you prefer?

Cardsdotcom and Direct Hits are both excellent ebooks.

I prefer the DVDs- I simply understand the material faster. I also feel the DVD material generally is better overall. That's my opinion and I'm sure others will differ!Guranteed you'll get 4-6 solid tricks on each one.
I do have most of his e-books however, and for what he charges, they are a STEAL! Some have 25+ effects in them. Sure, not all of them are the greatest, but what would you expect?

Can any body tell me if Aldo's card trick, Aria, which can be found on his DVD, Impromptu Card Magic, is written up in any of his books?
any help is appreciated. If you do know, a PM would be nice but a response here would do too.
Thanks

I have a booklet I bought from Aldo about two years ago in which each effect has a musical title. I can not find the book at present to see if Aria is in it. I do not see the book on his present website. If the book turns up I'll get back to you.

Thanks Jack appreciate the response.It gives me a clue to where to look for the book/booklet..