An honest and friendly critique of "The best of Santini" video

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

OOPS!!!!! Sorry Joe...this is Handcuffs.org, not the Magic Cafe. I just posted there as well...sorry, Sir !!!

Rick Silmser

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

Hey Rick,

Yes, some "mistake" there!!!

You know darn well you meant to post this here. Just like you already did on the Cafe.

Now why don't you tell about the milk can escape, the exploding cross escape, the jail escape, the challenge vault escape, the challenge Police museum escape, the air tight body bag escape, the plexiglass box escape with python wrapped around neck escape, the upside down jacket from the crane, etc, etc, etc.

They are ALL on this so called tape you claim to have.

As well as numerous news segments and media interviews.

Or at least they SHOULD BE!

Why do you not mention them?

This is because the material you saw and which it seems has been circulated all over by your idol Steve Baker has been PURPOSELY EDITED to show only a charity show which was done to raise money for an autistic kid, (yes, the one that kept coming onstage), to send him to the states for treatment his family could not afford. Nor could they afford a proper stage, lighting, or production. This is why it is done in the cheap community hall and looks like crap. End of story.

I really need explain nothing to you because you are a thug and a liar.

But I really thought it were about time the record was set straight on this "wonderful" video that has been making the rounds for the past 2 or so years.

Like my e mails, the lame and jealous have taken the true content and have hacked with it until it resembles something only suited to further "anti Santini" causes.

So Rick, sorry to break it to you, but if the tape you have has none of the stuff I mentioned earlier on it, then you too have been rooked.

Of course Steve Baker knows this. And so probably does Ian McColl.

So probably do you...

Steve Santini

P.S. Just to ensure this is not b.s. , there are some who post here who have actually seen or been given the REAL tape and have witnessed these complete footage. Steve Baker was originally given the complete tape. While I ask for no one to fight my battles, perhaps some one out there will verify the truth in what I have written. Yes, there are many out there telling lies, but I am not one of them!

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

Hi Santini, while you are here at the board, could you please take the time to give you appraisal to the photo I have asked to be posted in the thread.

RARE Medieval leg irons for sale

Thank you

Ian
PS if in your message above you are referring to me having seen the said video. Yes I have seen it.

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

No Ian,

You are not telling the whole truth here.

Perhaps you should mention that when we spoke a number of months ago on the phone and you brought up "the" video in question and I asked about all of the other escape footage that was on it that I mentioned here in my earlier post, you said, and I quote, "I did not see these things. Those were not on it".

I rest my case.

Regarding the leg irons you made, nice job, but anyone who knows anything about the way metal rusts with age can tell these have only a chemically induced layer of surface rust on them indicating recent manufacture and not a rich and deep patina that can only be brought about by real age.

Once again, to all who continue to post about me both here and on The Magic Cafe, you have the undying thanks of myself, Sal Accaputo, and Dan Zucker.

Keep up the good work!

BTW, obviously, if I were indeed such a "hack", there would be no need at all to continue to try and post about me in a negative way either here or on The Cafe.

Only people with either a personal agenda or who on some level feel threatened would need to do so.

Whatever.

The posts are still publicity and we thank you all for them.

Steve Santini

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

One final thing...

To the legions, (actually only one or a small handful), of people who keep creating fake user names and posting on The Cafe as if they are me, please bear in mind it could not be me because I have been banned for life from The Cafe.

The Cafe also has the ability to track and trace computer IP addresses and they all do not come from my computer.

So, and once again, the lame attacks are all obviously transparant.

I know this as do many others including some of the moderators over on The Cafe.

That being said, anyone who sees any post from some "new" user over there, or here for that matter, may rest assured it is yet another in a long line up of bogus attempts to look "smart" by people who could never come close to actually being smart.

Oh, and my wife's name is "Vera Hermanns, NOT V. Hermann as the recent posts on The Cafe are headed as if they were coming from her.

She says that if you want to appear they are from her, you guys should at least get the name right.

Cheers and off to rehersals...

Steve Santini

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

Thank you Santini for answering my question on the shackles. Yes they were made recently but were not chemically aged, just put out in the rain for a month. But the real question was early in the thread, I also asked you if it was the shackles you were talking about as being old, as the padlocks aren't that old and the chain is questionable as it is not attached to the chain.

As to the video, I was replying that I had seen the video and you had told me one the phone that there were two different tapes you had sent to different people.

Thanks

Ian

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

Hi Santini, just a thought, any chance of a copy of the other video you speak about? would be nice for my collection.

Ian

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

Hi Steve,

Well, we didn't watch the milk can escape, but we did watch the cross escape. We saw that at the very end when you were trying to get your feet free that you were shaking your feet around just to kill time because you were way ahead of yourself.

You had a harder time keeping the chains on than you did getting them off. The timing on the cross escape could have been alot better.
I would suggest more practice on that one. If you watch Steve Baker's "Death Race" on his Dick Clark DVD, you will see a perfect example of excellent timing.

A good idea is to time the fuse on the flash pot and as soon as it is lit, start a count in your head...1-100, 2-100, 3-100, and so on. It will make for a much tighter escape and you won't look like you were stalling for time to make the flash pot ignition.

I think I did say I was just at the Magic Cafe in my original posting above, didn't I ? yes I think I did.

Your friend;
Rick Silmser.

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

Sorry Steve...
Yes all of the mentioned segments are on the tape. If you so wish, my wife and I would love to critique your work.

It will be done in an unbiased, honest, professional and frank manner. Can you deal with that ?

Rick Silmser.

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

I know I have come in late on this, but I just wanted to say I have seen the video of Mr Santini's, which showed the milk can, exploding cross and bank vault escapes and I can assure you these are on the tape and not just hearsay. I have also managed to get hold of two other tapes of Mr Santini's for my collection. One is of a hypnotism show performed in front of a large audienence (I would estimate from the footage and size of the venue to be 1500-2000), this would seem a lot of people to bribe to say it was not faked. The other shows a variety of his jail cell escapes, all in genuine jail cells and with the relevant authorities present. To this effect I can only say that in my opinion Mr Santini has done the escapes he has said.

First This thread IS NOT a put down or a shot at Santini. My word was given to a few of the staff here at the Café that I would be a good boy from now on.

I have in my possesion, a video I recieved from an unnamed source (thank you very much !), called "The best Of Santini"

This evening my wife, Martine, and I sat down and watched the first 30 minutes of it. My wife has very little stage experience but I asked her to point out any and all mistakes "if" she saw them. I'll tell you what Em said after each stage of the escape took place to make it easier to understand.


To begin with, Santini was doing an escape from a beautiful wire mesh cage after being locked into several sets of cuffs and what looked like a collar.
He invited 5 or 6 people up to act as the committee. The committee examined the cuffs and locked Santini into them.

Emy pointed out that the first mistake was when Santini put the mic down on a chair and started to talk to the committee and the audience, he continued to do this for the rest of that segment. She also said that instead of all of the cuffs being on top of the cage, they should have been on an upright display board for all to see.

Next, Santini had the cuffs applied to his wrists by the committee members. Em pointed out that it was wrong that he had his back turned to the audience the entire time and all they could see were his back pockets. She said that he should have been standing, facing the audience, with two people, one on each side, cuffing him. An assistant (which Santini didn't have) should have been handing the cuffs to the committee to apply to him while Santini was talking into the microphone.

Next, the cage was kept at stage left at the back and remained there the entire time. I asked, and Emy said that an assistant should have brought the cage to stage center for the entire committee to examine and to let the audience see it. The committee was never given the chance to examine the cage and Santini (with his back turned to the audience once again and still off mic) told one committee member to lock the door and cover it. It was pointed out to me that the cage should have been covered by an assistant after the committeeman locked the door.

Em said the escape was "dry", I asked her to explain. She said (and I swear this is the truth) that the cage should have been raised at least 12 inches off the ground in a frame and had 1/4 to 1/2 a pound of gun powder under the cage with a 60 second fuse burning to make it more thrilling and dangerous looking to the audience. It took what seemed like forever for Santini to execute the escape. She said that if she was in that audience, she would not have said "wow" after Santini escaped, it would have been more like..."finally".

NOTE: Martine has only seen one other Escape Artist and that was Steve Baker, so she is a bit jaded since her first was the best.

The little 3 year old kid who kept coming up onto stage and lifting up Santini's cage cover was good comedy, she said..."that part should stay in his show".

Em was really suprised when she found out that Santini has been doing escapes for over 20 years, she said judging by what she had just seen, she thought he had only been doing it for a short time.

All in all, my wife said she can tell that Steve Santini really loves his art, but there is much room for improvement, his props are really nice but not used to their full potential.

She wishes the "Master" future success.

My friends, please remember, this IS NOT a bit of Santini bashing, it is an honest critique from 2 of Santini's peers. It is a review of one of his escapes from his "Best Of Santini" video tape.

Rick Silmser

Click to expand...

Hi Rick,

I also have a few of Steve Baker's escapes in my collection. If by the "Death Race" you mean the one of Mr Baker strapped to the car with the other car hurtling towards him, I agree this is good timing, but I also noticed on the first time I watched this tape that you could see the gap in the chains behind his wrist in order for him to slip them. Also, as you are into picking up on errors I am astounded you did not pick up on the fact that Dick Clark timed how long he took to open a combination lock, then it was said Mr Baker had to open four combination locks in ten seconds, when in fact he did not open any of them, as the chains were slipped. As I have already said, the timing was great, the showmanship was great, but the presentation of the escape left a bit to be desired.