From Wayne Kawamoto,
Your Guide to Magic & Illusion.
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This DVD offers two versions of Russian Roulette: one with four inverted cups - one of which has an upright nail under it - and the second that involves real guns in the classic scenario. While the Kockov character is one that’s designed for laughs, the routines are tense and present an actual element of danger. Both routines have great entertainment potential and are not hard to learn or perform. However, Jasper Blakely, the magician who portrays Kockov, disappointingly, falls short on the explanation of the second routine with the guns.

Dangerous Plungers

Blakely plays the magician character Kochov, a boisterous, macho, wardrobe challenged and slightly annoying, but entertaining immigrant from the Eastern Block. Talk about a developing and performing as a character. On stage, the seemingly mild mannered Blakeley thoroughly becomes Kockov.

The first routine is a variation on an effect that’s getting lots of play these days. Four bases are brought out. In this case, it’s the rubber portion of plungers - the suction cups. One plunger is loaded with a sharp object. Here, it’s a nail that stands straight up.

The bases are covered with inverted cups so the performer can’t tell which one covers the nail. The performer turns around and a spectator mixes the cups. One by one, the performer chooses cups and slams his hand down to smash them. At the end, the one cup that isn’t smashed is the one that houses the nail. For good measure, Kockov also slams a spectator’s hand down onto one of the cups during the routine.

The method is solid, however, there is an ever present element of danger. Should you make a mistake, you can be seriously hurt. This isn’t akin to losing a selected card. You could misjudge or be misdirected and slam your hand on the nail. As you would expect, Blakely offers excellent explanation and lots of advice on performing the effect.

Real Guns

The second trick features four real guns, revolvers, one of which is loaded with blanks. The guns are mounted on a rotating carousel and a spectator numbers the guns and there’s an additional random factor that involves members of the audience.

One by one, Kockov places each gun to his head and fires. The last gun is fired into the air and is found to be the one loaded with blanks. This one is a stunner. And again, there is a definite element of danger involved.

Unfortunately, Blakely falls short on the explanation. While he explains most everything, he fails to explain a key aspect and encourages you to watch the performance segment to figure it out on your own. When you’re talking about real guns and ammunition, you can’t leave anything to chance. Blakely quite frankly fails in this regard.

Be Warned

Russian roulette isn’t for every entertainer. The methods here are straight-forward and simple, but there’s always the chance that you can make a mistake that has dire consequences. If you’re thinking about adding a Russian Roulette style routine to your act, you may find this DVD worth studying.

-Wayne N. Kawamoto

MSRP: (US) $30

Dealers can purchase from Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.