Hey guys,

I haven't seen anyone mention Derren Brown yet, so I thought I would. If you guys want to perform "real" mentalism, I suggest you check out some of Derren Brown's material.

A lot of his stuff requires a lot of work, but is truely incredible to view, and every performance is different. That's the interesting thing with his work, every performance is different, unlike any other.

For one of his performances, click here.

If you liked that, it can be found in his "Pure Effect" book, along with many other astonishing effects. :D

Also, I advise you check out his latest book, "Absolute Magic" for even MORE amazing feats of magic that have never been crossed before! :D :D :D

- Lapping.

Darren Brown is an amazing performer and creator of mentalism effects. I've read his book Pure Effect and I really like how he doesn't shy away from mixing "magical" sleights and methods with mentalist techniques.

I myself am more along the lines of Banachek, with a smattering of Luke Jermay thrown in for variety. Do you perform any mentalism, Lapping? Wanna share some stories? B)

derren brown has got his own show in UK
watch it guys!! its awesome..
d revelation he made to some of his effects r greater than criss angel's..
i could say dat,,

Derren Brown Mental show

I watches

Mind Control [6 Episodes],
Russian Roulette[1 Episodes],
Séance[1 Episodes],
Messiah [1 Episodes],
Trick Of The Mind [6 Episodes],
The Gathering [1 Episodes],
The Heist [1 Episodes],
Trick of the Mind Season II [6 Episodes],
Trick of the Mind Season III [6 Episodes].
& Inside your Mind [DVD version]

Hope I haven't miss any of his show.

And the book "Pure Effect" & "Absolute Magic", I seldom read book never thinking of buy them. Is it really that good?

Someone tell me that "Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowlands" is an addition support on mental material.

This is the only Cold Reading book endorsed by Derren Brown, and the one which provided all the source material for one of Derren's earliest TV appearances. So if you want the real work, this is the book.

More details : Full Facts Book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowlands

Haven't have that standard into this type of magic but really enjoy his show.

And I like his The Devil's PictureBook.

PS: addition support metarial for cold reading "Body Language by Allan Pease", "Kenton Knepper & Rex Steven Sikes-Wonder Readings", "Red Hot Cold Readings - by HERB DEWEY AND THOMAS K. SEVILLE, Ph.D. ", "Tradecraft - The Art And Science Of Cold Reading", "The Art of Cold Reading by Nelson", "The Gentle Art of Cold Reading by Lee Earle", I am not that rich to get them all, not that free to read them all.

dont talk about ian rowland.

T_T

you make me sad

Lai, what wrong with Ian Rowland?
Make you sad???

Hie,I`ve read Ian Rowland`s alpha mentalism notes and his routines are excellent.I`ts really worth the buy and Rowland`s way of writing is entertaining and not dull for the fact of the matter.

I`ve also read the art and science of cold reading-TRADECRAFT and,well,it was a GOOd read but din`t really suit my style.A person who wears an earing on the right is assumed as a gay,probability,statistics and general assumptions.I`ll use a bit here and there but din`t find it that usefull.

I have both books,absolute magic and pure effect by BROWN and think that it`s a really good buy for a working mentalist.Mind you,some of the effecst require sleight of hand and Darren explains why he included this in his book.

I have Ian Rowland`s full facts book of cold reading but haven`t had the time to read it,just browsed through.From what I`ve read in his previous book,alpha mentalism,I think it should be a good book.

On the other books,that you mention,I have not touched them,so I`m not liable to say how they are but have heard good things about Lee Earl`s,gentle art of cold reading by friends.

-David-

Full facts Book of Cold Reading by Ian Rowland.Simply Fantastic,it covers almost everything on the subject,I`m dumdfounded for not reading it through the last time I got it.I`m gonna recommend this to Remus and Baalan,Remus to get the girls and Baalan to get the guys.Seriously,this book is really good,I`ve just read the 1st and 2nd chapter and it`s really comprehensive............wait,shouldn`t I be keeping this stuff to myself?...Nono,don`t get it,just let me be the only one!

-David

the mention of Ian Rowland makes Lai sad cos he missed an opportunity to meet him (Mr. Rowland) when he came to Malaysia.

me too.... :(

Darren Brown. Is he a genius of psychology or merely a skilled magician?
Quoting Simon Singh from the Daily Telegraph:

Derren recently appeared on ITV's Good Morning. He was allowed to do a couple of mind reading stunts and explained them by saying, "People have patterns of behaviour that you can identify, and once you've identified them you can manipulate and predict them." In particular, Derren could tell that Philip Schofield was thinking about the death of his childhood pet hamster because he could see, "How you're responding and how you're agreeing and disagreeing and pupil dilation and so on." Presumably if Schofield had been thinking about the death of a goldfish then the pupil dilation would have been different.

The following is the link to his full article:

http://www.simonsingh.net/Derren_Brown_Article.html

You must agree that some of his performances are pretty *ahem*.. I cant really put it in words. i.e punching someone with his mind.

mind-punching.

I like that.

Derren Brown started off as a cardician if I'm not wrong, and his work with cards is as amazing as his mentalism.

http://www.ellusionist.com/reviews/d/Devil...erren_Brown.php

Here is "a"review

http://www.magicweek.co.uk/magic_reviews/r...icture_book.htm

Another;

The Devil's Picturebook by Derren Brown
Price: $55.00 from the Derren Brown Website (www.derrenbrown.co.uk)
Format: NTSC Video
UPDATE - November '03 - it seems there are also some PAL versions of the video still for sale at the above website...

Difficulty: 5/5
(1=A cat could do it, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

Description
Those of you familiar with Derren Brown will no doubt know him as the suave, sophisticated mentalist, who's mindgames and effects are not only astounding but also executed with the elegance and grace of a Siamese cat.
But what you may not know is that Derren Brown is also one of the most natural and gifted card magicians of the modern age, combined with a superb mind for misdirection. Having left this behind for a career in mentalism may seem like an odd move, but that's what he's done - and this video captures his performance, and also reveals the handlings.

Review
The video is quite long - practically 3 hours of pure magic shot almost entirely at Derren's home, with his close friend and fellow magician Peter Clifford. The quality of filming and editing is pretty good for the genre, and the overall style of the video is sort of a 'privileged' invitation into the very private world of Derren.

The general rhythm is good - there's a performance to guests, which for once uses what I would deem as being REAL people. This makes all the difference!
After the performance, we cut back to Derren and Peter, at which point Derren methodically explains the routine.
These explanations are not for the faint hearted! They are some of the most advanced techniques you'll see, and from the onset of the tape and Derren's 3 Card Routine - you'll see that each effect demands a lot of understanding and knowledge.

Drawing on techniques from Lennart Green, Mullica and Veronon to name a few, Derren mixes established routines with his own brand of magic, and the results are quite breathtaking.

The first half of the tape deals with a lot of sleight of hand, whilst the second half seems to concentrate more on the menalism - which is how most of us know him.

All the way through, you'll be transfixed - although, I would be surprised if you can watch the lot in one sitting without reaching for your cards and thinking 'I've got to try that!'. But stay tuned for the end credits - there's a brief break from the intense routines and explanations which will lighten up the mood!

Overall
When I first obtained this video, I really knew that something special was contained within. There was a weird sort of 'hairs on the neck' moment as I opened the envelope, and I could barely hold back from playing it.
One of my personal card heroes, Lennart Green, is said to have been a major influence on Brown, and I could not wait to see what was contained on this spool of half-inch magnetic tape.

I was not disappointed, and the cassette has pride of place in my collection, not only because it is REAL magic, but because I feel that it's rarity not only as a display of pure passion and genius, but because, sadly, it is also a rare item to own.
I've even backed it up to DVD in case I ever damage the original (Obsessive???)

This is as close to genuine magic (in every sense) as you'll get - even if you're a seasoned magician, there's things here that you just can't possibly explain - even after the revelations and explanations, the magic is not really the same without the excellent and passionate performance of Brown

Rating: Effect/item: 10/10, Quality of goods: 10/10, Value for money: 10/10

The bottom line?
In a review I read before purchasing on Magicweek's website, there was a lovely line which summed up my feelings, and I quote:
"Thank the Lord for video, or we might have no record of what Derren did when he was still 'just' a magician."

Hi guys
I just wondering is Derren Brown's mentalism effect all real?
I mean certain effects like the kung-fu mind punch and the zombie, and his ability to instant hypnotise a person.
Is it possible for all these to happen?
For those who has information on these, please share

i am not sure is all that real anot. but some is real
check out the astro AXN.. got a tv program."the mentalist"
it is nice.

They would be real if you have seen them. Enjoy the entertaiment that he provides. His mentalist skills are very good, he works alot with a large crowd.

Derren Brown is very real, some of his tricks ARE fake, very few, like a trick he did where he spread the cards out, tell the spectator to look at one and he would know which one. It took him 10 YEARS to learn what he did, which is a fusion of magic, psychology, suggestion, misdirection and showmanship(as said in the beggining of this show Trick Of The Mind)

Derren Brown has some skills of his own though, he has GREAT memory, photographic memory. He started off doing hypnosis first, and then he move into "mind reading." Love his work.

Actually he started doing hypnotism after watching a mentalism show in uni. In the process, he learnt a lot of sleights as well, performing with cards, coins etc then finally into mentalism.

By the way, he also does caricatures.

I feel the techniques he uses are all real, but what he tells the audience he uses might just be misdirection, as in telling them he does it in a way but actually in another way. From what I read, both here and on other forums, there is such a thing as an instantaneous induction (hypnotise instantly).

All this can be read from his book Tricks of The Mind.