It takes a lot of effort to make something look effortless.  That old saying goes double for performing magic.  When Penn and Teller revel the secret of a trick, most people think "Gee, that's easy.  I can do that."  But it never works out quite as well as it appeared on TV.  That's why professional magicians guard their secrets so carefully.  You have to work very hard at an illusion before it becomes magical.  A poorly done trick is dull, unentertaining, and even a bit irritating.  (How many times have cringed inwardly when someone asks you to "Pick a card, any card.")  But there is nothing so amazing, so astounding, so well, magical, as watching a talented magician in person.

This DVD is the second in a series that presents a basic overview of the history of performance magic.  It contains six episodes, which originally aired on the Discovery Channel.  Each episode is self contained, so you can watch this DVD without having seen the first, as I did.

The shows on this volume are:

The Blackstones:  One of magic's greatest artists, this show traces Harry Blackstone from his humble beginnings to becoming an internationally known star.  The story continues with his son, who took many of his father's illusions and improved on them, becoming a excellent magician in his own right.

The Maskelyne Dynasty:  John Maskelyne was booked into the Egyptian Hall in London in 1873 for a three month run.  He, and his children, stayed at the theater performing for an amazing 31 years!  Maskelyne was not only a very good magician, he was a great designer.  He and his team invented some of the most amazing effects, many of which are staples today.  Levitating a woman, poker playing automotons, and transforming an assistant into another person are just some of the many effects he perfected.  When he retired, his children carried on in his tradition, all fine magicians in their own rights.  Maybe the greatest of his descendants, Jasper Maskelyne volunteered during WW II and was sent to North Africa.  There he helped the war effort by making the Suez Canal disappear from enemy planes.

The Royal Dynasty:  The story of the Royal Dynasty of magic.  When Keller, the most famous magician of his time, was getting to old to continue touring, he passed his mantel to his chosen successor The Great Thurston.  (And in exchange for his props and secrets, Keller got a percentage of Thurston's gross receipts.)  Thurston in his turn, gave his secrets to his protégée Dante, who then passed the mantel to Lee Grabel.  In 1994, Lee Grabel appointed Lance Burton to be the latest in the line of 'Royal' magicians.  The interesting story of some of the best performers of this century.

Dai Vernon:  As an amateur magician, Dia Vernon is the magician I admire the most.  I believe he is the greatest magician to have lived.  He was the only magician (and many tried) who was able to perform a trick for Houdini that the great escape artist was not able to figure out.  His ability and knowledge of magic is legendary.

Also known as "The Professor,"  Vernon was the person who simplified magic.  He showed the world that it did not have to be complicated with large flourishes and grand gestures.  Magic could be close and intimate.  And it was much more astounding when it was intamate.  Vernon pared a trick down to its essential core, and then analyzed it.  Every movement should be natural.  Every movement should be there for a reason.  In simplifying the illusions, he made them much more effective.  In his later years he taught a new generation of magicians how to perform, including Doug Henning.  This is a wonderful show about the man, with some amazing film clips of him doing some of his great illusions.    Best episode on the disc.

Women Conjurers:  Traditionally, women have only been the assistants in a magic show.  But there are a few females who have stepped up from behind the props and became respectable magicians in their own right.  Their numbers have been growing.  This show looks at the first female conjurers and traces their path up to the present.

Mental Magic:  My favorite type of magic.  No props, no music, no fancy lighting, just the magician performing seemingly impossible feats.  The show talks about the famous mentalists of the past, Dunninger and Kreskin, and interviews current practitioners of the art.

This is a very good history of magic.  It does not have time to go in depth, of course, but it does give the viewer a good basic knowledge of the subject.  There are a lot of rare video clips and pictures shown, along with interviews from people who are experts on the subject.

This does not give away any secrets, so if you are yearning to learn how to perform Blackstone's Dancing Handkerchief this is not the DVD for you.  If, on the other hand, you want to learn more about who the greatest magicians of the past were, what they did to earn their fame, as well as see the effect they have on today's magicians, this is a great DVD to own.
 
If you are not a big fan of illusions, this series will not convert you.  The actual performance of tricks is not the main focus of the show.  When magic is preformed it is just one short illusion, often without patter.  But this series is not trying to be an encyclopedia of tricks.  It is first and foremost about the history and background of magic.

There is some magic in the show of course, but almost all of it is in the form of old movie and television clips.   The picture quality of these old clips is usually not too good, but it is amazing to see in any case.  Watching Blackstone Sr. perform his famous dancing handkerchief trick or the floating light bulb is a great experience, even if it is from a less than perfect video tape.

This show is presented in its original full frame format.  It appears to have been originally mastered on videotape, and there are some imperfections associated with that format.  At one point, a horizontal line appears at the bottom of the screen and slowly moves up.  There are a couple of spots were the tape will speed up, just for a second or two, making the person on screen talk faster.  There are digital artifacts too.  Some straight, diagonal lines have a stair step effect, and there is a loss of fine detail when the camera moves.  Not anything that was very bothersome, but it was present.  Other than that, an average transfer.

The film and video clips they use in the show run the gamut from acceptable (for the more recent clips) to very bad (for the older material, in general.)  This is to be expected when viewing rare material that was not well preserved.

Taken as a whole, the video quality is acceptable.

Audio:

The audio was presented in Dolby Digital 2.0.  There are occasional pops and clicks, but not very many.  The vintage clips have worse sound associated with them, of course, but even these are easy to understand.  In the one instance were it is hard to make out the words, subtitles are provided.  As with the video, the sound quality is average for a documentary TV series.

The Extras:

There are no extras on this disc.  It is one of the barest DVDs I've seen.  There are not even any chapter stops in the episodes.  There is a still screen that has a picture of the first volume in this series, and a screen with the production company's web site address.  Other than that, nothing.

Final Thoughts:

This is a nice series, especially if you are a fan of magic illusions.  Not only do you get a chance to learn about the history of this fascinating branch of showmanship, but you can see vintage slips of some of the masters performing.  I zipped through all six episodes in one sitting, and was sorry that there wasn't more.  Highly recommended for amateur magicians.  Those interested in magic or the history of theater and vaudeville, should make an attempt to check this DVD out.