"Esoteric" DVD by Gerard Bakner
Suggested Retail USD$345.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 3 Out of 10

"Esoteric", a DVD by Gerard Bakner, purports to teach magic in "the field of esoterism" but really succeeds in only re-hashing old and well-known methods with no entertaining presentations in sight.

It's a shame, really, because, done well, bringing esoteric props and presentations together really does fascinate a great many people. Break out a pendulum, let runes hit the table and a spectator's interest is piqued but good.

But once the props are out, there has to be something there to keep their attention. At the end of the day, that's what "Esoteric" lacks: anything to make these tricks interesting and entertaining.

There are thirteen tricks taught on the disc, using rune plates and cards, stones, and the ever-popular tarot deck. In addition, there are tricks using diaries and a special fortune-telling deck. All in all, there are a number of different props in play here which presents a pretty nice range of things to play with.

But some more playing was in order with the material itself.

Take the methods. If you've been around for any length of time, you're already familiar with the methods Bakner relies on the most: the down-under/under-down deal, the "magician's choice", and the Gilbreath Principle. There are other methods used here and there, but they are, again, quite common ("Voodoo Ashes", anyone?). When it comes to method, there's little here for the more experienced performer to learn.

Then there are the tricks themselves, which are mostly predictions of this, that, and the other thing. "Voodoo", the aforementioned "Voodoo Ashes" take, seems to be the lone exception here. All in all, there's not a lot of variety in effect here. The performer predicts a chosen rune, a rock, a card (or cards)... After the third or fourth one, they all begin to take on a very bland taste somewhat akin to mashed potatoes.

With mediocre tricks and familiar methods, there's really only one saving grace left to this disc and that's the presentations. Great presentations, even good presentations, would make this disc worth owning.

Unfortunately, Bakner's presentations leave quite a lot to be desired, a sentence which should win a prize for understatement of the year. None of the presentations have any framework -- props are brought out and the trick done and that's that. No explanation of the props (something that is almost required when ringing in any "esoterica" regardless of what it is), no discussion of the meanings or properties of them... In other words, no building of any interest. Then there's the muddying of some of the climaxes, where so little emphasis is placed on the proceedings that any surprise or suspense is all but lost.

Normally, I'd go through the list of effects and point out what I thought was the best, the worst, and the like. Not this time. With so many tricks being so similar in effect and working and presentation, there's just no point.

I reckon all of that makes Bakner's "Esoteric" seem like one of the worst DVDs in magic today; it's isn't. It's just not what it could have been. Using esoterica in magic routines is a wonderful, powerful, entertaining thing -- I do it all the time and can attest to the draw a good routine built around a simple, unique prop can have. "Esoteric" simply doesn't do that (one look at the two spectators on the disc will demonstrate quite well their lack of interest in anything Bakner does). Can it be done with what Bakner supplies on this disc? Yes. There are ideas to be gleaned here, but be prepared for an inordinate amount of work to get them just so.

I won't go into the sub-par instructions or production values except to say that you're never taught the ins-and-outs of any of the routines and, for English speakers, you're going to be filling in gaps in the translation yourself. Caveat emptor.

There is one thing, though, I cannot let slide. A great many of the tricks here are taught by Bakner as using something called "The Palindrome Principle". Do not, for the love of all you hold dear, buy this thinking you're going to learn something new. This is actually Gilbreath's Second Principle, something that has been written about a lot by Robert Neale, Max Maven, and a host of others (even ye humble writer took a turn at working with it and explaining it in "Automata"). I'll stop short of accusing anyone of re-naming Gilbreath's work for nefarious purposes, but it's a thing I found personally repugnant. And that's all I'll say about that.

At the end of the day, Gerard Bakner's "Esoteric" falls short on a few too many levels for most performers save the true die-hards who find anything dealing with this kind of magic fascinating.

"Esoteric" DVD by Gerard Bakner
In a Blink: 3 Out of 10

Material: 4
It's all about variations on methods here, with a particular reliance on the down-under/under-down deal and Gilbreath's principle. The routines themselves are weak, with little build-up or plot evident. This is a disc strictly for those seeking new brain fodder and not already familiar with the methods involved.

Practicality: 5
You'll need special props (sources are given on the disc) like the cards, rune tiles, and the like, but most of the work can be easily made up or altered to work with other things. You'll need a table and a quiet environment and some of the resets and set-ups will require a trip to the bathroom.

Quality of Production: 3
The video is fine -- you'll have no problem seeing what's going on -- but for English speakers, the voice-over translation lags way behind the action in some spots and totally ignores some of what is being said. French speakers will not have a problem as the main audio track is in that language.

Quality of Instruction: 3
Bakner does an average job of teaching his routines, but drops the ball on several occaisions, especially when it comes to what he calls the "palindrome principle", which is really Gilbreath's Second Principle. With the lack of any real substantive instruction here, Bakner falls back on directions which boil down to "if this happens... then do that".

Presentation: 1
The presentations, in a word, are horrible. No set-up, no explanation of the props or their meaning, and a few times the climax is baffling but not in a good way: something happens and without any framework makes a confused mess of the routines.


Shane

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