Passion by Bernard Bilis and Luis De Matos and EMC

A life without Passion is an empty life? Doesn’t that sound like a famous quote?  Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but one thing that I know is that French Magician Bernard Bilis knows a thing or two about Passion.  Passion is his 4 DVD project with EMC and it is mandatory material.  A magic life without Bilis’s Passion is, well, empty.

I am not kidding here people when I tell you that this DVD set is over the top amazing. It is a treasure trove of excellent world-class magic.  Bernard Bilis is a master performer, creator and teacher and I absolutely loved every minute of each DVD.

As for the production quality, it is excellent. It is EMC and we expect nothing less!

The first DVD starts off with Bernard Bilis performing in Portugal, in French language. There are English sub-titles and because of the slowness and directness of Bilis’s presentation, you barely realize that you are reading sub-titles.  Many time when I review DVD’s with English subtitles, I find it to be very difficult to watch because the performer speaks too fast or his patter is too complicated.  Not so with Bilis.  His card magic is truly amazing.  The laudatory quotes from Dai Vernon, Darwin Ortiz and Bill Malone are well deserved and accurate.

What you get in the 4 DVD are 27 routines, a live performance to a full audience, masterful English language explanations of the tricks and even a lesson on how to cook a chocolate pastry. Although Bilis performs the tricks to the live audience in French, he explains them in English.   But what is stupendously stupendous about this project is the content on the 3rd DVD.  Bilis teaches his “fundamentals” that include palming, his pass, his switch and a lesson on the Vernon transfer.  You may revisit palming with a greater love after seeing him teach it.

Each DVD has segments of an interview conducted by Luis De Matos which is totally awesome. You learn so much about Bilis and his life and his encounters with Larry Jennings and Dai Vernon.  I wish there was more footage as I feel like I came to know Bilis and have become quite fond of him.  He clearly has a love for people and our art.

With this purchase, you get over 8 hours of video and a battalion of magic. Be prepared to disappear from your life for a while so you can watch and learn and practice.  Some of the tricks are easy and some are more complicated, but they are all really super.  Did I mention that he teaches a wonderful rope routine?

The ad copy lists the contents of each DVD as follows:

DISC 1
LIVE SHOW PART 1
FULL SHOW FEATURING
FOUR JOKERS
GO TO SEE IF I’M THERE
INVISIBLE CENTER DEAL

DISC 2
LIVE SHOW PART 2
SPECTATOR CUTS THE ACES
GANGSTER ACES
BILLY THE KID
SPONGE BALL ROUTINE

DISC 3
FUNDAMENTALS INCLUDING:
PALMING
PASS MASTER CLASS
VERNON TRANSFER
BILIS SWITCH

DISC 4
FAVOURITES
OPEN PREDICTION
VOODOO
ACETIMATION
ROPE ROUTINE & MORE

They call him the French King of Cards and I say, long live the King.

You can purchase this must-have project from any Murphy’s Magic dealer!