Daren:

Give it some time, its only been 1 day since they were shipped.

Tony

Everyone should start to get theirs today....overseas it take a little longer,,,but we sent them so they would arrive fast...thanks guys
koz

Thanks again Koz. Now I have a reason to go home.

Tony

I hope so tony...i don't want anyone mad at me!!!!!

they are worth the wait
e-mail me guys if there are any issues

magicman1234@verizon.net

hope all is well
koz

My DVD's arrived yesterday. I was more than a little occupied with other things going on, so it was very late when I had time to watch them. Thus far I have watched the first one, and half of the second.

Here is my opinion thus far:

Freaken Awesome! (Sorry for the Bostonian expression, but it adequately describes my feelings)

Dan Tong is flawless in technique, performance, and teaching.

The DVDs were shot in a restaurant and in the studio. You get to see live performances of the material and see the reactions of real people, not just the scripted/rehearsed reactions of a studio audience.

The camera work, lighting, and editing of the DVDs is also excellent. To be quite honest, the production quality is equal to, if not better than the big boys in the industry.

What I really enjoyed were the discussions between Dan and Koz prior to the performance of the routine. Here Dan explained his thinking, the how's and whys of the routine. This alone was more than worth the price of the series.

Each of the routines on the DVD are performed in front of a live audience (sometime multiple times if there are variation on the routine) and then are explained, in detail. Each move, and the justification of the moves are thoroughly explained. Nothing is left out.

I'm not going to outline the routines or summarize them here. There is no way I could do them justice. Let me just say that everything that I have seen is technically perfect, in execution, motivation, performance, and spectator reaction.

Best DVDs I have seen in both content and production.

Freaken Awesome!

Tony Iacoviello

Thanks Tony:
I've seen Danny Tong lecture, and am glad he has offered us his work. Your honest endorsement and enthusiasm is appreciated, an so I'll be picking these up.
(His paper hat tears (Carnival) are excellent as well.)
DP

Tony - Thanks for that excellent review! Dan is the Man!

daivdpaul$ - You're right about Dan & Pauline Tong's quality products. Although the routine is not shown on his DVDs, I've seen Dan perform the hat tear and end it with Pete's Purse using a male spectator. Freaken Awesome! (Couldn't resist, Tony)

All of Dan's products are available at http://www.magicbypauline.com

Don

Still waiting for mine to arrive, unfortunately, can someone give a brief description of a couple of the card effects, especially the card on ribbon thing, if you can give descritptions of the others that would be great!

Have received these and they are great!, very workable material, highly recommended!

I wholeheartedly agree! Dan's handling for Card in the Wallet moved me to purchase my first Kaps/Balducci wallet! It's one of the strongest routines for CntW that I've ever seen. Since his routines for Ring Flight and the Egg Bag are on both KozmoMagic.com and Dan's site, I won't go into those (both killer!), but I will say that the rest of the material is incredible as well.
- I've been searching yesterday and today for a nice Asian ornamental bowl to add the Benson Bowl routine to my restaurant act...his is incredible and gets the money on the table!
- "Jack" is Dan's version of the old "Oscar" trick, but Dan adds a couple of things that make it that much stronger...best version I've seen yet.
- "Card on the Ribbon" is amazing! Imagine having a card that you've selected and impaled on a needle and ribbon, to have that card change places with a card selected and signed by the spectator! I like this routine...strong stuff for any strolling performer.
- Dan's handling for Matrix is an ingenious, "get the money" type routine as well. I'm thinking of adding a Matrix routine into my show that I would never have done...without having seen Dan's thinking on the situation! Dan gives you two different handlings for this one so that you can choose which one you prefer...
- If you do a C&R rope, or you do Professor's Nightmare, prepare to see how they both should be done! Dan's thinking on these classics proves why he's one of the greats.

I will tell you that though Dan is an influence, all of my opinions are MINE alone...Dan is a wonderful man, a great performer, and a very generous person to get these great DVDs to us...

Rick

I agree if any of you guys don't purchase these dvd's you are missing out big time.

just out of interest where did you get your kaps/balducci wallet from?

Magic Depot...they're having a $10 off sale on theirs...

Rick

These are wondeful DVDs.
Buy direct from the source - Dan Tong! @ http://www.magicbypauline.com
I'm know he will appreciate it.

I remember how impressed I was with an Expansion of Texture routine in MUM from Mr. Tong years ago. Really looking forward to these DVDs.

Keith Mitchell

I just finished watching these DVD's. I enjoyed watching these, was fooled more than once, and learned quite a bit. It's obvious, both from the performances and the conversations with Koz, that these were routines that have been honed over a long period of time. Every detail has been worked out with a reason for every move. It's a great lesson in routining and is an inspiration to me.

As far as the effects themselves, I have some mixed feelings. Not that any of them were bad, but that they've all been developed with table hopping in mind. For example, as has already been mentioned, many of the routines use money. This is to get money out on the table to encourage a tip at the end. I don't do restaurant work, so this detail isn't important to me. He also discusses that he reduced the sponge ball routine to just 2 balls in large part so his sometimes drunk audience could follow it. He just has different requirements than myself and has adjusted his routines to fit. Seeing this was also an education.

The standouts from both DVD's for me were the egg bag and chop cup routine. These are both on the second DVD so if you want to just start with one I would choose it first.

I also enjoyed watching the performances in front of real people with typical reactions (I think they were probably a little reserved because of the camera).

I recommend these DVD's.

The “dan tong FINALLY” is a two DVD set produced by Kozmo Magic. This DVD set is among the best DVD’s I have ever viewed.

The production quality is excellent. Kozmo Magic continues to do a fine job of filming and editing magic DVD’s. The choice of material is excellent. In contrast to an all card or all coin DVD, Dan Tong gives you a variety of good, commercial, well thought out, and well performed magic. After watching Dan perform his magic, you have no doubt that he’s been doing this a long time. It shows!

Volume 1 begins with an excellent “no palm” to Balducci style wallet. This routine is well worked out and practical for the restaurant venue. Dan also shares two versions of his Bill Matrix. A coin effect utilizing borrowed dollar bills. Not only is the magic good but the effect gets the money on the table. Dan performs and explains a quick and entertaining sponge ball routine. The routine is good, short, and to the point. Again, ideal for the restaurant scene.

Ring Flight / Ring On Stick is Dan’s take on these two classic effects. The two effects go well together. Dan uses this routine as his closer. Bills and Bowls is my favorite on Volume 1. This is a Benson Bowl routine done with borrowed bills and a sugar bowl. The magic is very strong and has the added bonus of again getting the money on the table.

Volume 2 begins with Dan’s routine for the Malini Egg Bag. In my opinion, this routine is worth the price of both DVD’s. This is a great routine! This is a truly versatile routine. It can be done close-up at a restaurant table or at a walk around event. It can be done stand up for a larger audience. It can also be done on stage. This routine has to be seen to be appreciated. Dan’s Chop Cup routine is off the beaten path. Another commercial routine. It is short and to the point. Dan has choreographed this routine extremely well. I can see many of you adding this to your repertoires.

Card on the Ribbon is another well-suited effect for the restaurant scene. It plays big and, yes, packs flat. Thompson’s Aces is a very cool card trick. Unlike a lot of the knuckle busting four ace productions that are currently out there, this four ace production is not difficult to do. However, it is really difficult to reconstruct. At the same time, this production is very pleasing to the eyes. Dan has combined this ace production with Dr. Daley’s last trick, which gives you an easy to do and easy to follow routine that plays well.

Dan now switches to ropes. He presents a version of “Professor’s Nightmare” that features a very convincing, yet very easy, false three-count. If you don’t pay attention Dan’s ending may very well fool you. This is a very good routine.

Dan also offers “Jack”, a version of “Oscar,” that plays well and is easy to do.

You shouldn’t get turned off because Dan is performing a lot of classic magic on these DVD’s. Remember, Dan has been doing close-up magic for over fifty years. You can tell that he has really finessed these effects by removing weak points and adding bits here and there to make the routines more effective. I have no doubt that someone could literally put together a good close up act just from this material alone.

It is my opinion that the more knowledgeable you are, the more you will appreciate this DVD set. These DVD’s are First Class. I do not hesitate to give this DVD set my highest recommendation.

I'm glad you guys are likeing these....

That's it?

I very much enjoyed watching both DVDs. The videos are well done and easy to follow.

Excellent routines for classic effects throughout. The improved handling of the Chanin card off ribbon is a very nice version of a largely overlooked classic.

The handling of the "false" count in the Professor's Nightmare is especially deceptive. It looks natural, as well.

The videos were shot from the perspective of working in a restaurant or other close up situation, but it's clear that the egg bag and rope routine would work in a wide variety of settings.

Highly recommended!

Has anyone seen any other reviews for this set other than whats posted here?
koz