The Indian Rope Trick

I picked this DVD up at Half Price Books on Saturday. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a good buy. Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour is a CBC Documentary Miniseries made up of three episodes each devoted to the street magic of three different countries. I followed the DVD menu and watched each program in order, first reading the liner notes which added a nice background to the adventure. And it's a mad adventure.

We start in China, where everything seems to be in contradictory. Magicians are a suspicious lot in Communist China. Yet there is a state run Magic theme park that stands empty. I thought there would be problems with the Chinese government but it pales next to the buracracy in the next episode in Egypt. Armed soldiers are everywhere and many things can't be filmed. Scary stuff. But the icing on the cake is the final episode in India. Blood is every where. The back streets of India are a place of dreams and horror and humanity. I had to turn away a few times, it was that brutal. Oddly enough, the Wild Men gag involving two geeks ripping chickens to shreds with their teeth didn't bother me at all, it made me think of Memiors of a Sword Swallower. I need to read that book again.

The search for the Indian Rope Trick is one of those great mysteries that can't be solved and Penn and Teller's quest is the highlight of the DVD. Their interaction with the street magicians shows the knowledge of magic and the respect between these magicians as they trade props and tools with each other beyond the limits of language. Slight of hand and misdirection is a universal tongue. Who could guess?

This is a great DVD and I'd recommend it to everybody. Rent it if you can!