Talkmagic.co.uk

magicdiscoman · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:04 am Post subject:

i miss paul daniels and his variety show but i miss debbie magee more, then i am at that funny age. Cool

Michael Jay · Advanced Member Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 1125

Josh Clarke · Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:39 pm Post subject:

Michael Jay · Advanced Member Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 1125

It's true, he used lip stick. And, the very next day, my next door neighbor told me that she had seen Angel expose it on his show and was disappointed because I had shown her the trick a few weeks prior to her seeing the program.

Funny, that. She was actually disappointed that she had learned how it was done.

See - I don't have a television set (which I consider to be a phenominal waste of time) and the only reason I knew about his exposure was because of my next door neighbor.

Mike.

Phas3r · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 2:44 pm Post subject:

Well im confused but i think im coming out with some arguments on both side.

I never been abble to believe in Criss magic because it goes against most of the magical principe ive learn over the years. So i always tend to believe he is doing "Cinema Magic". The same type we can see in the best of Hollywood's movies.

In other hand he is clearly a magician but he is also an actor holding a strong magician character wich create the biggest part of his effects. The fact that he can mix both kind of magic togheter, bring a new twist in magic.

I believe i would not be abble to do this kind of magic because it does go against my principles. I have no problems with stooges really but i will never perform in front of a fake audience. I understand the telespectators arent "stooges" but when i perform i do it under your eyes because i want your eyes to be the witness of my magic!

Now if the laymen seeing the trick are paid actors it takes everything away from my pleasure as a magician.

just my 0,02$

beeno · Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:34 pm Post subject:

When you sign that contract, you sign away your persona.
I don't believe he is fully happy with what he's producing at the moment. He is a talented magician after all.

Michael Jay · Advanced Member Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 1125

That is precisely why I'm so disappointed in Angel myself, beeno. He really is a talented magician. He doesn't need FX to make him better, because he used to be the real deal.

His stage show in New York city was highly spoken of by magicians and critics both. He was doing well for himself and the show was unique. Further, he did a "no cover" Metamorphosis which was cutting edge and lauded by his peers in the magic industry.

I can understand his picking up the television show. Anyone would have done the same in his shoes. He has a staff of consultants on the payroll who anyone would be envious to have....And what do we get? Camera tricks. Not just editing to get rid of tell tale stuff that the unblinking eye of the camera just doesn't miss, but full on special effects the likes of a Hollywood/George Lucas movie.

So much the shame.

Now he's exposing magic. Did he honestly need to go that route? Was his show losing rating points that required such a thing? He sold us out, pure and simple.

Mike.

oberon · New User Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

Chris Angel is a fraud.

My son and I went to Vegas, and one of the things we really wanted to see was Chris Angel somewhere in the Alladin. Well our wish was fulfilled, and it was the biggest disappointment both of us ever had. Chris Angel has a troupe of hairstylists and makeup people around him. Everyone who is there on camera, must sign a release, if they don’t they are very rudely forced to leave the space. He was doing the trick of levitating a woman when we saw him, so we signed the forms, only to find out that the woman he was levitating, was taken into a back room, with her husband and coached on the trick, (Text deleted by Mods) with hair and makeup people fussing in between. I am amazed, this has not been uncovered, and it was a huge let down for my son and I as we were big Angel fans. I would say that, in my opinion, Chris Angel may not even have known one trickbefore hollywoood found him as a person to look good for the camera. Since this display, I would say my loyalty will stay with David Blaine, at least he can’t fake his endurance displays. There was nothing whatsoever real or even an attempt at illusion from Chris Angel. If anyone does not believe this letter, then I urge you to go to the Alladin and see for yourself.

Note from Mods: Whilst we can appreciate that you were more than disappointed, please go and read the forum rules about exposure.

Demitri · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:09 am Post subject:

I'm going to call Bravo Sierra on this...

jayfrommo · New User Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

JAlexBrown · Full Member Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 88

I would have to feel a tad rediculous if I hopped on this thread bandwagon and stated that Angel uses nothing but stooges and camera tricks. I can appreciate a good trick and I can appreciate a bad trick for equally different reasons. A good trick is very amusing because, for just a second, you're carried away into another world. A bad trick, on the other hand, puts you into reality. A bad trick doesn't make you feel magical...just a fool. Truth be told, though, once we know how a trick is actually done, *all* tricks are bad tricks. Not a single trick makes you feel magical once you know how it's done. Once I learned the Healed and Resealed Can trick, I felt sort of a fool. Such a simple concept totally overlooked. Criss Angel's Deja Vu trick was a bad trick, yes; we, now, all know how it was done (I'll avoid pointing out that quite a few people probably learned how it was done in the process of reading this thread...oops...it just slipped). In any case, a bad trick on Angel's part doesn't make Angel a poor magician. Has any magician here never done a bad trick or accidently exposed their method? I think every magician has done at least one bad trick, so cut the man some slack and let him entertain anyone who is entertained by his stuff. If you're not entertained by his performance, the simple and clean answer is to not watch it, not comment on how poor you think his stuff is done, and let those of us who want to enjoy it enjoy it.

JAlexBrown

Demitri · Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:19 am Post subject:

I have to disagree about all tricks being "bad" tricks, once we know the secret. I absolutely LOVE watching any and all magicians - good or bad. I can learn from all of them. A bad magician can teach you what not to do (or what doesn't work), while a great magician can inspire you to improve and refine your abilities. Then there are the times where I just allow myself to forget the secrets I know, and just sit back and enjoy a performance.

I still uphold that, without the ability to go back and examine that deja vu effect, there wouldn't have been as big a reaction. Not to mention that some of the solutions were actually wrong!

If you have to go back and watch something frame by frame just to expose the "fakery" - then you have completely missed the entire point of the performance. These people aren't looking for entertainment - they're just vying for a moment in the spotlight so they can engage in a masturbatory display of how cool and smart they are.

JAlexBrown · Full Member Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 88

I may have poorly explained my stance. I, too, enjoy watching all magicians. Even though I sometimes feel insulted when watching a bad magician (he takes me for enough of a fool to not have noticed that obvious enter any p**m you like here), but I still enjoy watching even bad magic. I didn't mean to say I don't enjoy watching bad magicians. When I say *bad trick*, I'm referring to just that, a bad trick, but not necessarily a bad or unentertaining performer.

JAlexBrown

Demitri · Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:25 pm Post subject:

Gotcha. I agree with you there. If the guy is arrogant and terrible - then I lose interest.

JAlexBrown · Full Member Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 88

While I knew Criss had not performed any real feat of magic (and, hence, even I couldn't understand why the group acted surprised at the end of the hall like even they were clueless as to what he had done), I can honestly say that the real solution wouldn't have been my first guess. I had plenty of ideas in my head (most of which I cannot remember now that I know how the trick really works), but the right method was never one of them. If you ask me, this entire thread was written so some guy could get some attention, which he obviously did succeed in (I don't suppose anyone's kept track of exactly how long this thread has been on the first page of the Magician's Hall of Fame section), but there was nothing more to the original poster's comments. It was to strike a match and throw it into some gas - create a little explosion of controversy and watch it all go down for the sake of some attention. This thread almost seems pointless anymore (ironic, yes, since I myself continue to post to this thread, but that's neither here nor there). In any case, I hope the original poster understands that he's not exposed Criss as a fraud, because we've all already knew that.

JAlexBrown