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Radical Korn

Chris Korn

(Based on 1 review)
Chris Korn is perhaps the brightest rising young star on the magic horizon. He's been hiding in the Underground for many years but in 2004 the world will see him explode onto the national celebrity scene with a series of shows on the Travel Channel and a multitude of appearances on major talk shows. He's handsome, debonair and an extremely talented magician with a bent sense of humor. One thing is for sure; you'll find four of the most visual, practical, high impact tricks from Chris' working repertoire that will soon find their way into all of your shows

On this Disk:

* 3 Korn Vanish: This mainstay of Chris' walk-a-round set for years is slick, deceptive and practical.

* Brutal Deck Switch: Simply the best thought of card routine in the universe. Chris teaches the most diabolical methods with an attention to detail that will leave you gasping for air!

* She Holds the Money: Of course you can vanish coins, but in this outstanding show piece the spectator does it with no clue to how it was done.

* Coppa Silva: It's simple and elegant with props you already own, but now you'll
have the real work on how to blow their minds this is ultra clean.

Reviews

Brad Henderson

Official Reviewer

Apr 06, 2004

These Dvd's changed my entire opinion on Chris Korn. I must confess, I had heard the hype and was eager to see Chris work at the LVMI. While I thought what he did in the show was very funny, it was not the kind of thing his reputation hinted at. (Ok, maybe part of his reputation). I did see his lecture which was good, but it had sort of a "thrown together" feel and I left wondering what the buzz was about.

Now I know. Chris Korn's two DVD's present a very skilled young man who clearly has been thinking very seriously about his magic.

3 Korn Vanish is a wonderful, Will o' the Wisp style routine which consists of the production, manipulation and then vanish of three coins. Most of the moves are visual and have that "did I just see what I think I saw" feeling. There is only one moment I do not care for which is a "tap steal" sort of thing. At the Coinvention I saw a lot of magic moves that I believe fool no one. Now, don't get me wrong. Do I think a layperson sees the move and can execute it? Of course not. But do they know that's when something happened? Yes. Fortunately Chris has a very strong grasp on magic structure and this move still "works" because there are other layers of deception. Having said that, the routine would move from a 9.5 to a 10 with a more invisible steal. But this is nit picking.

Brutal Deck Switch is Brutal. When watching it I was thinking, "this isn't very good. Look at the way he is handling that card. I don't know what he's doing, but he's doing something."

And then he fried the HELL out of me.

Was totally suckered in and completely fooled. It was a great moment.

In truth his handling of the card is not terrible, but I was being critical while watching. I think most real people would not notice the cozy handing. And even if they do, so what. The switch will fry them. So in some respects, its an excellent Red Herring.

This one trick is worth the price of the DVD.

She Holds the Money is essentially another version of the plot explored in the first trick, with a charming presentational ploy. Basically its a vanish, manipulation, and reappearance of three coins. While there are many effects which occur during this routine, all are very clear. Unlike the work of say, Reed McClintock, Chris's magic really "reads" to the audience. It is both well structured and well paced. The audience is never confused as to what is supposed to be happening, and can instead enjoy the beautiful machinations of the silver circles.

Coppa Silva was my least favorite trick on the tapes, though many people praise it most highly. I have my own Cooper Silver routine and am consequently very opinionated on this topic. (For one, I agree with Vernon's maxim that only one coin be introduced at a time.) Let me say that Chris's routine is solid and would play very well in any closeup venue. Even if you do not adopt the C/S routine, you might find use for the stunning change of the copper into silver coin on the back of the spectator's hand. While we are treated to a side view, imagine how this would look from the spectator's vantage point. A killer moment.

A very nicely produced DVD with 4 great pieces. I particularly liked the "performance inserts" during the explanations.

One of the best "I'm going to teach you some close up magic" DVD's I've seen. 4.5 stars
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