Al Mann Lecture By Al Manns

This DVD is a live recorded lecture Al Mann gave in Vienna, Austria, at the 1. Wiener Zaubertheater, on November 25th 1984. To my knowledge this is the only DVD available today showing Al Mann in action. The quality is remarkably good for a live unscripted recording from a single camera from the 80s. It runs for a bit over 1 hour and 40 minutes.

It is a wonderful video to watch and see Al in action, as well as pick up a number of tips and several excellent routines. He also explains a fantastic card force he credits to Robert Parrish. This force is so fair and completely absent of any sleight-of-hand, that the knowledge of this alone is worth the entire DVD. (Actually Parrish credits Eric “Nitwit” Williams for this force. It is also described in the Parrish Folio in an effect called “Mental Opener”.) Of course, this is just one little bit you are getting. Al shows two effects with his DiploMental pouch, several billet tests and two card tricks.

The second half of the lecture is performance only, where Al demonstrates the Lexicon Phenomenon, Master Slate Deluxe, and a symbol prediction. This is followed by a longer Q&A section which reveals quite a bit more in terms of inside mentalism knowledge.

Al Mann gives the lecture in English and a translator translates everything into German. Al says a few sentences, then the translator translates them, then Al says more etc. I spotted a few minor errors in the translation, but they should not prevent any German speaker to not understand the instructions and explanations. The DVD menu is bilingual. The only piece only in German is the introduction by Kaldy-Karo and the final thanks again by Karo. This means this DVD is usable for both English and German speakers.

My sincere thanks to the 1. Wiener Zaubertheater, of which I am a proud member, for making this recording available and allowing me to offer it for sale.

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