Gary gets to the point with these "simple" tricks. This DVD is a real reminder that sometimes simple is best...and simple can be quite astonishing. I like his easy teaching style. He just gets to the meat of it. If you have not checked out his DVD's on thumb tip magic....you should do that as well.

Thanks for the free gift. I really enjoyed watching him breeze through these tricks.

I loved his talk about what you can personally get from magic.

I wish something like this had existed when I was a young boy back in the 1960's trying to learn magic. Of course that can also be said about the explosion of all the instructional magic media of the last few decades.

There is no substitute for seeing a trick performed by a master, even for these basic beginner tricks. The addition of performance and showmanship in this DVD will certainly inspire the next generation of magicians.

I would recommend that Penquin put together a bundle of the tricks explained at the beginning of the DVD along with the DVD and make it available for sale at a good price for first time magicians.

I got this as a free download for Christmas (Thanks, Penguin!) and was pleasantly surprised with the content. It is aimed at young, beginner, magicians and is one of the best I have seen in it's category. It is full of actual beginner tricks anyone can do with items from home. Darwin does a great job at keeping things simple; many magicians making these "beginner" DVDs seem to forget what a beginner is.

Towards the end of the video he does use a thumb tip for a few tricks but that is the most expensive item you will have to buy. Darwin is a good teacher and explains everything very well. I thoroughly enjoyed watching every minute of it. Personally I would not have gotten $30 worth of information out of it but I am not the target audience. For a young beginner this would be a great start!

I bought this just because I was curious. I am not a beginner to magic at all, and I bought this to just see what Darwin was teaching people. I was amazed. It has not only a bunch of good magic tricks and fun tricks, but also it has a lot of really good tips for young magicians to be bale to grow in magic quickly. It teaches all sorts of showmanship skills and a bunch of good buying tips. I even learned one thing from it and I've been studying magic since I was 5! Buy it right now.

I've only seen bits of this, but given the character and the production company (Gary Darwin, icon and pillar of Magic, Magic and the Penguin), has to be a quality product.

Here, too, goes on all aspects of magic, energy and Gary darwin 'overwhelming, 50 years of experience are seen, and the love he shows for magic and' engaging.

it looks great but where is the instant download

my first DVD: a must for beginner. Many easy tricks that give you the opportunty of building your first routines or performances, friendly taught by a smiling great magician and a wonderful assistant. Nothing to add, just a DVD to have. (probably unusefull for advanced, but I don'to know, I will never get so far...)

It's quick and dirty (when it comes to the tricks) but quite dry. My kids lost interest with it quickly and asked if I could just teach them the tricks instead. I wanted to like it but the only thing I found kid friendly about it was the kid tricks and props. Another reviewer said it's like watching your grandpa teach magic... I'd agree if you're grandpa teaches magic while hitting on one of your 20 year old cousin's girl friends. I can appreciate his zest for life, magic and young women but I found it a bit uncomfortable to watch.

There are other beginner magic videos that are more engaging for kids. My kids enjoyed this one more:
The Greatest Beginner Magic DVD Ever featuring Oz Pearlman and Jessie Geneva

Coincidentally Jessie Geneva is the same woman gramps is hitting on in this one.

There’s allot covered I think this is Great for someone just starting out...

It is an excelent DVD for beginners in magic, it is clever, easy and the effects that come in the DVD are easy and, believe it or not, they cause great reactions.