The old Art of Astonishment tape has been transfered to DVD finally. The only place I can find it for sale is Hank Lee.

I have the original VHS copy, and I am glad that its now for sale on DVD!
Good news for all the PH fans out there.

Sincerely,
Ralph

P.S. - If you want to view my fan site for Paul Harris it's,

http://www.geocities.com/magicpaulharris

"Never seen before, brand-spanking new material!" At least, that's what the ad says. Great sales pitch, but I've had the VHS (which I transferred long ago to DVD) for years. It was originally released in 1995. I'm still hopeful that we'll see the blockbuster multi-disc Astonishment set some day.

BTW... nice site, Ralph

Well...I missed Paul's true genius when this was relased on video, so I'll have to put it on my list.

It will be fun to watch this with my "new" eyes!!

Chris

Posted: Sep 30, 2006 4:52pm
I don't think has any new effects that weren't on the video. Am I right?

Ralph, I like the site you made!!


Chris

I have all 6 VHS tapes of Paul Harris, including this one. If I have to pick the worse one-- effect-wise, it would have to be this one. ALL his stuff is killer material, but this one just isn't the same like the others. Maybe it is just the atmosphere-- This one takes place in a house where he performs sitting "Indian-style" in the living room, sitting on the stairs, in the kitchen, etc. Many times the audience is 3 or 4 people (1 or 2 seem totally drunk). Just different than what I was accustomed to with the first 5 tapes of his.

The tricks are just ok for me-- Although I use Fizzmaster quite often. It is an easy one to teach to someone with a slight interest of magic also.

New material, though?? Actually, ALL the material can be found in his AOA 3 volume book set. Most, if not all, will be located in the the first sections of the books entitled "New Stuff". So if you are unsure about getting it and you have his AOA books, familiarize yourself with those sections and the trick list found on this tape (now DVD) to help you decide.

But buy it, of course, if you want to just complete your set of Paul Harris on TV!!!

The effects, "The Shape of Astonishment," and the recently re-popularized "Impromptu Nightshades" are well worth the price of the DVD.

I totally agree....Otherwise, IMO, Frankie636 nailed it.....

MJM Magic has the DVD:

http://www.mjmmagic.com/store/art-of-ast......378.html

Is this DVD one of the 10 DVD set?

If not, will it be duplicate to 10 DVD set? THX

No, it's not. (I assume that you're referring to the Stars of Magic DVD Set which feature MANY magicians, not just Paul Harris). This is AOA DVD just an individual title, whose material stands on it's own.

Nope. This one has been out since 1995, and although it does contain material that is not on his other DVDs (Stars of Magic series, for instance) it is not part of the rumored 10 - 11 disc AoA set that is suppposedly (hopefully) in the works.

Wow,

That is a lot of Paul Harris material. Will the DVDs follow the books or will they be all new material?

Jeff_Mash, Magiguy
IC, thx
I will the rumored 10 dvds. HEHE

This old tape is great..you really get to see the genious in paul..infact if we were real magicians would we do stuff with cards, no we would do stuff with ordinary objects. the AOA tape is great, granted the people are drunk in the tape and not the best performance taping, but take this stuff and try it out on people..seriously what would someone think if you changed their dollar into a five then let them keep it b.c its real. what kind of impression is that? shape of astonishment is genious also, my fav on the tape. everything on here is great and is material that will play well..i think you get turned off to it b.c they are not performed well on the tape. the angel case is great, expand and do different ideas with it. PH is a genious and back in the day when he came up with this stuff he was way far ahead of his time. This is a great tape to watch and to listen to paul talk about each effect is a pleasure. Everything is in the books but if you are more of a visual learner go for this video, also check out my partners PH site above, Ralph.
True Astonishment DVDs coming in 2007. Can't wait!
Dan

If anyone has the original VHS tape of this, Why does it state:

"VOLUME 1"

This was his 6th video tape of the time, but the only one called "The Art of Astonishment". In fact the cover box states:

"The Art of Astonishment Video SERIES"

Both of these quotes infer that there is going to be, at least, a 2nd volume, but this was the only one. In fact, this was the last video tape of Paul Harris' magic, featuring himself. This was released way back in 1995.

Paul is definitely way overdue for another tape/DVD of his magic and performed by himself. It's been over 10 years now!!!

Why hasn't he done any video tapes in these past 10 years?? The AOA books shouldn't take 10 years to make. About 80% of the material was just reprinted from his other books.

Why do it?

Money is the only reason I can think of. Though I doubt money and posessions mean a great deal to Paul, judging from what I've heard of his life history.

We should just respect and learn everything Paul has shared with us. He has shared more than enough. Everything he has shared could be studied for years without boredom.

Is the effect "nightshades" explained/taught on this dvd?

Yes on AOA vol 1 dvd it is.

I have to agree with Frankie. I think this tape is clearly the least of Harris's efforts.

It's been years since I watched it, and it was my first time watching Harris actually perform. I was floored at how cavalier he seemed, how rote and uninspired the presentations were, how little drama or astonishment was actually evident. It appeared to be the definition of "phoning it in." I recall a lot of flubs as well.

It's funny; many of us (myself included) got down on Jay Sankey for his misleadingly-titled "Art of Sleight of Hand." Well, the title "The Art of Astonishment" is similarly misleading, and it seems we only let it pass because Harris has been using the AoA name consistently. But there's as little on this tape about creating a sense of astonishment as there is on Sankey's DVD about what makes for great sleight-of-hand. This tape (now DVD) is just a number of tricks, performed as if Harris had tired of performing or explaining them years earlier.

I'm a huge fan of Harris, his effects, his ingenuity, and his writing. Perhaps that's why I was particularly disappointed by my first exposure to the performances and instruction on this tape. The STARS OF MAGIC DVDs were noticeably better.

--Josh