I couldn't find a lengthy review of this DVD and I'm always referring it to people. So here is a snippet of the full review I posted on my blog. The entire review is a bit too lengthy to post here and has some embedded video of me performing (hacking at) one of the DLs. Read the entire review here:

http://magic-yeti.blogspot.com/2008/06/d......ake.html

Greg Wilson's Double Take DVD

The DL (DL) is arguably the most widely used sleight in all of card magic. Poorly executed, you'll look like a complete dufus. Perfectly executed and you look like a wizard. Seemingly a simple move, the DL is a tough move to polish to perfection and difficult to nail 100% of the time. For century's, the classic pass was thought to be the most indispensable move but move over pass; the DL is now the king of cards.

Degree of Difficulty

Beginner to Expert. Wilson puts puts things in order. He assumes you don't even know what a "mechanics grip" is. He ties the introductory material up with a "quick start" segment providing three easy to learn miracles. The material gets harder from here on out. You'll find that some moves and routines have an steep learning curve.

The cool thing is, I really think a beginner could get this DVD as a starting point. There is no more important move than the DL in card magic. This will give the beginner an arsenal of hard hitting close-up magic. Then, as the novice advances, they can work on the more advanced material. Literally, this DVD will take you a long, long time to learn and perfect all of the material.

And the advanced card mage will love the Britannica-like index of DL knowledge as well.

Teaching

Greg Wilson is like a tenured Harvard professor - only a lot more fun and a lot less boring! Each routine is performed in front of a small audience of attractive ladies donned in vintage 80s attire. He is constantly cracking jokes and flirting with the pretty ladies in his audience. During the instructional sections, Gregory moves slowly through all moves, usually several times in both slow-mo and in tempo.

Wilson has a gift for teaching. He really speaks to the physics of each move; where the pressure is applied, what direction the pressure is taking, what are the opposing pressure points, where the pivot points are located, what the sound of a card should sound like.


Production Quality

This is the only weak point in my review. This is Wilson's first video back from the days of VHS tapes and when Wilson had more hair! This DVD was obviously recorded from tape and it shows. That being said, the tape quality is pretty good throughout most of the DVD. The sub titles and transitions are were pretty good for it's time. I've seen much worse on DVDs produced in the last couple years.

The DVD menus are pretty complete. Not all of the break points are in the menu but most are and can can skip through to the ones that are not given menu selections.

Overall: 9.5/10

My highest rating so far. This is a resource that you will use for years to come. The tricks alone would make a solid DVD. If you need a resource to determine the best DL for you, this is going to fit the bill. Sure, there may be some lessor known DLs that are not covered here but there is sure to be a few that you'll come to cherish.

Read the entire review here including the full list and description of virtually every move and routine.

http://magic-yeti.blogspot.com/2008/06/d......ake.html

I agree this is a great DVD, well done, a good value and well worth the money. I could never quite figure out the DL handling from "Royal Road to Card Magic," and was ready to throw in the towel when someone recommended this DVD.

Ten minutes into it, I said "So THAT'S what Hugard meant!" Although I'm still a big fan of books for routines and theory, there's no question in my mind that a well-made DVD is often much more helpful when it comes to sleights.

BTW, the object here is not to learn a dozen different ways to do a DL, but to watch a dozen different techniques and then select one or two that will work the best for you. Many card books and DVD's imply that the DL is simple and easy; in my experience, it is neither simple nor easy. Like most sleights, it is 50% muscle memory and practice, 25% misdirection, and 25% pure guts. But once mastered, the DL is a very powerful sleight.

This DVD is basically a treatise on the DL. No fancy graphics or video tricks, just a straightforward demonstration and lecture on DL technique, with lots of good tips along the way. It should get your DL's up and running in short order -- the rest is up to you! Click HERE for more info. SETH

The best part of this dvd are the effects he teaches. They're workers and you get to practice the DL.

Thanks for the review.

I thank Greg for the hotties he usually has assisting him on his DVDs. You get workers and eye candy in one DVD.

Any product with Greg Wilson's name on it is well worth the money. From performance to instruction.

Double Take is well worth the $ and I have seen them going for $15 or less. Good investment!

Mike

Read this over on the Penguin Magic Forums. Nice stuff. Makes we wish that there was a decent preview Can't seem to find one anywhere. The only one I keep getting is an actual routine.

Well, besides the routines, there's nothing to preview. If they showed you the lifts, there might not be any reason to buy the dvd!

Great dvd, though.

Greg Wilson has a lot of energy when performing and teaching,I don't think his sleight of hand is perfect,sometimes he messed up when he was teaching,and sometimes flash,but who cares,spectators don't know there are two cards,If you are nervous when doing dl,chance is you will be caught,it's about attitude,you are showing a card,why you being so careful and nervous.He looks really happy and relax to perform and teaching,he is fuuny,that's why I like him so much,tricks are not the magic,the magician is.Some magicians has really perfect sleight of hands,for example Jeff Sheridan,but his showmanship is just not my cup of tea.

AH!!! It all makes sense at last... Enlightenment is mine.

Haha! I had figured that out thus far . What I meant was a quick compilation of teaching styles/an overall introduction to the DVD by Greg.

Flashed? Isn't perfect? Your kidding right? I've seen the best of the best flash on video. Who cares. That doesn't degrade their skills. In my opinion Greg's skills are up there with the best of them. The camera catches what the eye can't.

That's the thing I love about Greg. If he screws up, he rides with it. He has the ability to replace it with something magical. The guy can make magic out of any situation.

We have the same opinion,why you tink I am kidding.Did you see my whole post?Greg is great.

This is definitely a nice resource on the DL. My DL was always unconventional and this DVD helped me to learn and refine several different methods. I think that even the most casual spectator will notice the "move" if done enough, over and over again. This DVD teaches so many methods of performing the DL that you could literally pull it off 10 different ways over the course of a set and not even the keenest of observers will notice that anything unusual has happened.

I currently only own about 10 DVD's, and of those the one(s) I've had the longest are Double Take and Daryl's Ambitious Card and I would never part with either.

I have mixed feelings about this DVD. On the one hand, I like that Mr. Wilson teaches a lot of double lifts, replacements, and changes. I like how his teaching style is very informal and casual. The feel I get from watching him teach is of being taken in to his confidence and being given a private lesson. You can really tell Mr. Wilson honestly cares about effectively teaching these methods. And, overall, he does a pretty good job.

Now on to the negatives. The biggest problem I have with this video is that it felt very rushed. I would have rather he skipped showing tricks and spent more time on the double lifts, or even cut down on the number double lifts he teaches. He only spends about a minute on many of the double lifts. His teaching of the knockout double lift, which is one of the longer presentations, takes less than 3 minutes. The longest he takes on any double lift (the stunt double) is about 5 minutes.

I think this is really due to the sheer number of things he tries to cram in to the video. Personally, I'd much rather have gotten more in-depth coverage of fewer techniques than the brief overview of many techniques that we get.

Due to the hurried nature of the video, there are a lot of fine points he simply does not cover. For instance, how much pressure should you use when pushing over the cards? What angle should the deck be in when doing the pushovers and DL's? How far from your body should the deck be, or does it even matter? What do you do about the problem of dragging other cards along with the pushed-over card? What do you do when you screw up and accidentally do a triple lift instead of a double lift? Etc...

Other (minor) issues with this video stem from the fact that the production values weren't the highest. When he does his tricks it seems they're in a dark, nearly empty basement, and the people he performed his tricks for look like they really don't want to be there. This leads to a dreary and rather pathetic feel, as if Mr. Wilson couldn't even get a proper audience or venue for his magic. He even says (on camera) that the women in the audience were only there because he told them they were going to film an MTV video. How pathetic is that?

Another sign of cheapness and a rushed feeling is the cameraman can be heard snickering during one of the scenes. And Mr Wilson slips up and drops cards in a number of scenes. Couldn't they have just done a re-take? But it seems they couldn't be bothered, or didn't have time.

The video also feels and sounds dated, with really corny el-cheapo titling. And, most annoyingly, the same exact bass riff was played over and over and over again throughout the whole video. The video just has an overall cheap feel about it (though it's certainly not youtube webcam cheap, as at least the film and sound quality are good, the editing and camera work are competent, and the lighting is good during the teaching segments). All these minor faults could be more or less easily overlooked, if the content was top notch. But it's just not, as I mention above.

Still, I would recommend this video to get a nice (though brief) overview of a good variety of double lifts.

It was released as a video in the late 90's and transferred to dvd.

Gnosis, a lot of what you write I agree with, but this is still one of my favorite videos. As for production value, it's a product of its era. As for the teaching, yes, Greg always moves quickly, and he's actually a bit more patient here than on some of his later videos. But there's just a ton of material here. For someone who doesn't have a lot on their shelf, the sheer amount of tricks and sleights taught, all under the rubric of the "double lift," is pretty staggering. This is a DVD I always enjoy coming back to.

I was very fortunate to have sat in a lecture given by Gregory Wilson (2 x FISM winner) recently, about 2 months ago. He was outstanding, non-intimidating, self-deprecating, funny and very sincere. He gave one of the best lectures filled with insight, philosophy, many tips, etc. I have the DVD and I think it is great. I think the pace and style is fine, at least for me and if I did miss anything - playback. My approach to learning magic is passive and active. To think I can get the moves/trick down after 1 viewing of this dvd or any dvd is unrealistic.
I'll stop now, can't get started on a rant about...nevermind. motherfather chinese dentist.