First Thoughts:

When I first saw this trick on the Dive of Death special, I fell in love with it! I couldn't imagine bieng able to perform that. I thought for sure it was a camera trick or a stooge!

But it wasn't! There is an ACTUAL method! And it ISN'T A PIPE DREAM! THIS IS MUCHO EASY!

I couldn't believe how clever this is! This and Elixer of Life are my definite TWO PURCHASES OF THE YEAR.

The Package:

It comes in a small, half sized DVD case that looks SLEEK. Really nice looking.

On the front, it has a cool picture of a match and the words,

Light brings out,
The truth,
Which only the darkness,
Can hide.

Which is really cool. On the inside, it has a nice looking heavy duty envelope with the gimmicks in it. These are REALLY cool, but when I first looked at them I had that moment of, "What the... Oh! That's old... Wait... Does that actually work?".

The DVD:

The DVD looks nice, and when you first pop it in, it starts playing really eerie music, and showing some REALLY nice city that you only dream of bieng able to go to and see the nightlife.

It has three options, Play, Chapters, and Extras. A LOT of time was put into making this look as good as it does. Trust me, this entire DVD looks REALLY good. Like, better than Theory11. Seriously.

What is taught:

This DVD teaches you how to make the gimmick (of course using what came) which only takes about 20 seconds. This is taught by Dan White and is easy to understand.

It also teaches forces, vanishes of the card (not the standard rubaway either). The vanish that Dan Hauss teaches actually is something I haven't seen before and DEFINITLY soemthing I am going to start to use.

Quality:

The quality of performances, music, editing, everything is probbably the BEST I have seen aside from Control by Theory11.

The only thing is that the parts that Dan Hauss teaches he is like screaming a little and the camera is much lower quality than all the rest of the DVD.

Dan White teaches in the same place that eXile (available from T11) was filmed, and outside. What is wierd is that even the outside clip by Dan White was SUPER high quality.

Performances:

This DVD actually comes with several performances by Dan Hauss. All are for different audiences and it really shows the diversity of this effect.

This also really helps in confidence. It is very possible and really easy. Dan Hauss shows that.

Teaching:

The teaching is FANTASTIC. You have NO problem in the world of how to do a thing. They both go over it a TON. It is awesome.

Signed Version:

At first it was a bit of a letdown, because they only taught the unsigned version (I.E. the one David Blaine DIDN'T perform).

But then they went into a discussion about the signed version. And it is pretty tough! A lot of gimmicks will be waisted in trying until you get it right, and it will definitly take some serious practice. Not easy.

But that is DEFINITLY ok. Still doable and not a pipe dream. I only use the unsigned version because it gets the same reactions and people don't know that the signature is missing if you don't do it with the signature in the first place.

Floating Match:

If I used the gimmick he uses here, I would use this effect. Looks REALLY magical and ghostly, and is darn clever. Wouldn't be certain it hasn't been done before though.

It is done with a commercially available prop and many of you I am sure have used and own this prop.

Self-Lighting Match Pack:

You have to REALLY be careful when doing this. This is the work of science, and so it is really kinda dangerous. It does hit HARD when done right, and you do get to see a full performance of this effect.

I might have to try this, but it uses some stuff that you have to get off the internet, so it will be a while. Good news is that it is inexpensive and you only use a little each time.

Music:

The music of this DVD is amazing, and I REALLY like it. I had it in my head ALL day after watching this.

Only con is that it is one of those musics that makes you really sad when the DVD ends... Like you wanna watch it again.

Gimmicks:

The gimmicks are nicely made. Very cool idea and VERY clever thinking. They are available from penguin as a refill to this trick (thank god) and you can get 14 more for only $9.30 cents. You can buy them at http://www.penguinmagic.com/specialorde ... p?ID=11104 .

Trust me though, don't only buy the refill like some spoiled little kid. You will be TOTALLY lost and you won't get the AWESOME DVD.

Price:

This is $30.99 at Penguin. DEFINITLY worth the money.

Man though, I would have paid SO MUCH more for this. I LOVE this.

Practicality and Reset:

A lot of people ask about this. This is VERY practical and I swear you will use this. Just two little things to carry around in your pocket and you are set to go.

And the reset is instant, provided you don't give it away as a suivineer.

Final Thoughts:

If you don't buy this by now, you are a total idiot. Seriously. I don't know what I would do without this!

This is super cool, clever, and most importantly practical and possible.

Please buy it now.

Please.

GOOD EFFECT, VERY STRONG LOVE IT

this is hands down the best effect of its kind!
it better than get sharp and the light!
it better because you can do so much tricks or even a whole act with a match book leading into this!
and than you blow there mind with this!
plus they teach you a few very cool trick with a match book!
they even teach you how to make the match book catch on fire without even touching it!this is worth the price alone!
dan da d man dizzle hauss is the man buy it buy it buy it now!

I personally didn't love this effect. I think the introductory effect was better than the actual effect. The reason why is that you have to use a standard white, plain match case. I think it's a whole lot of trouble just to find one of them in the first place. The second problem I found is the price. Being the "rich" person that I am, It is pretty expensive for what you get. If I were to set a price for this effect, I would nock at least $5-$10 off. The effect is okay for a street magician and something that I would like to try on stage. I oppologize that I can't give a completely informed reveiw not performing this on stage yet. As I said previously, the introductory effect can be altered for so many different effects and is something I carry around the set up to frequently.

Lit by Dan Hauss and Dan White

Effect: A spectator is asked to take a match out of a matchbook, and ignite a match to verify its validity. The matchbook is then held tightly in their closed fist.

A card is selected in the deck - then visually vanished under impossible conditions. The spectator slowly opens their hand to find the matchbook has visually transformed into a twisted hybrid of playing card and match pack.

Price:$34.95

Teaching: The teaching is incredible, Dan Hauss goes over the basics very well enough for you to follow his moves. They also teach you the ol' restored lit match to pack with new flare to it. It goes to Live footage when he does a move which is very nice and helpful to see how the performance flows. Dan White goes over a variation of the biddle trick.

You also get Andrew Gerard's Lighting Match Pack which has a clever method behind it, you also get Dan White's Floating match as a bonus which I will use!

Quality: You get the DVD and your Lit gimmicks which I love! I just wish I got more than 14 but refills are 8 bucks and they are well worth the dough.
When folded up I get fooled that it's a box full of matches :D

Difficulty: 2/5 Basic sleights are used here so it's nothing risky to perform. Casual is the word :wink: . I loved watching the performances, this gets reactions that are off the wall! This takes

Applications: With Andrew Gerard's Lighting Pack method you can also apply to create your own effects! I'll keep it at that. This is Street Magic! And there are so many ways you can present this. This is even an effect you can perform with language barriers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Isopzz ... re=related

I performed Carbon Paper to people who don't speak English well..now I have LIT :D

Overall: 10/10 For under $40 you get so much from the most respected magicians in the industry today. A strong effect, it's killer!

This really is a pretty good effect, but the problem for me is that it requires putting a lit match into your mouth, and then keeping it there for a while. There are plenty of other ways for me to amaze someone, without having to resort to that.

The other problem is that while this gets an initial good reaction, once it sinks in, it's really not a fooler. The spectator will understand that a switch happened, so the thinking won't be "how did he do that?", but rather "when did the switch happen?". This isn't the ultimate reaction I'm looking for.

Man it's hot in here! Lit... I believe we saw this very effect on the last Blaine special. Let me start with my one gripe about this effect, then I'll go on with the review. At the beginning of the DVD, one of the Dans states that this is an original effect. He is mistaken. Jay Sankey came up with this premise years ago. In the credits, they mention other magicians who have "independently played around with this concept" but no mention of Sankey.

That aside, this is a killer product and definitely worth consideration. I really dig the artistic style in which it was shot. A lot of black and white footage which gave it a bit of a cool feel. During the explanation portions of the DVD, there would be flashbacks to the performance section so that you could see the move, you just learned, in action. The performances, of course, were out on the streets.

For $35.00, you get, with the DVD, 14 specially printed cards and a handful of effects taught to you. Refills of 14 per pack are only $10 bucks. One of my concerns was that I wasn't sure I'd be able to find matchbooks that matched the plain white faux matchbook that comes with the DVD. Right about when I started having that concern, one of the Dans stepped into save the day with exactly how to get matching matches... whew!

There are a couple of different match tricks taught on the DVD. For me, the self lighting matchbooks (an addition by Andrew Girard) is entirely worth the price. You literally can hand an open match book to a spectator to hold. As they hold it, the whole freakin' thing bursts into flames! It's just too darn cool.

Several different ideas regarding the handling and performance are offered. Overall, this DVD is pretty typical, production-quality wise, of most of the DVDs by young guys: Super hip and fresh editing and effects, but relatively poor quality filming in the living-room-apartment-doubling-as-a-production-studio.

I definitely recommend this, if for nothing else, the self lighting match book. 1/2 point lost for not crediting one of the pioneers of this effect... Jay Sankey. GEM!

While the DVD is overpriced, there is a lot of helpful info on it to help build a complete routine. Having said that, the card gimmicks are well made and look eactly like a matchbox. Its a unique trick ideal for walkaround magic. I use it every once in a while and it is very powerful

I saw david blaine do this and i was floored...the hybrid card/matchbook looks REALLY cool as well. The sleights aren't too bad, plus you get a few bonus effects.... so I would def buy this

You know how every now and then you get your penguinmagic parcel in the post and you look at a gimmick or effect that you've purchased and you couldn't be happier with it? Well, this is one of those effects!

This whole routine is just brilliant and it's easily one of my top three effects that I use. I first did this trick at a friend's party and I had a crowd of about fifteen people around me, and when the revealation of the card came it was one of the biggest reactions I've ever had!

Do not hesistate to buy this- it is a very, very, very good trick and will get you some great reactions.