talkmagic.co.uk

Personally I like all 3. I find elements of what each of them do entertaining.

I think Criss Angel's presentation is more "polished" than Blaine's but his effects somewhat more "unbelievable" in the sense that i dont mind being "tricked"... that's the idea, tricked by the magician is fine, tricked by the spectators watching... not so good.

I think Blaine's effects are great, his personality somewhat annoying but overall I am a fan.

Derren Brown I think is very good, polished, great effects and "different" to the other two. Yes he is more "laid back"... he is English afterall so naturally. As a point of difference to Blaine and Angel I enjoy it.

no doubt all 3 have had serious impact on attracting more interest to magic. what do you think? feel free to add other contempory magician's into the "frey".

I don't like Derren Brown and I find Criss Angel equally if not more horrific. The chap looks like he has just come out of jail.

However for some odd reason I don't mind David Blaine too much. At least he doesn't swear. When I first saw him I was a trifle confused by him and thought "what an odd style of working"

He has grown on me though.

The 3 'mainstream' magicians mentioned are literally just that... mainstream.

The only reason for the public awareness of them is that they have been hyped by the media.

In order of keeping my interests piqued, I'd rate them (best to worst) as:

1. Derren Brown
2. Criss Angel
3. David Blaine

I rate Derren as an entertainer and creator, and I hold him in esteem mainly because of his natural ability to take a mundane effect and give it fizz. Albeit his own dry kind of fizz.

I rate Angel purely because of his methods of taking magic/illusion and giving it a contemporary feel, rather than the age-old stereotypical imagery of a man with white gloves and a hat. I think when most younger magic fans think of the word 'magic', they associate it with Angel's breed of street/stage stuff.

I rate Blaine for his marketing achievements. Not his magic. Although he's obviously skilled, and he's possibly soley responsible for the recent resurrection of interest in magic, I find most of the stuff soul-less, and egotistic.

It is always such a shame in these situations that we couldn't talk about the appearance of 'real' magicians on the TV. Now that WOULD be nice. However, due to the fact that most of the more respected performers are what one might deem 'underground', the public will (thankfully) never get to know what they're all missing.

I'm a huge fan of both Blaine and Brown, and I think that without having seen some of Blaine's street magic, and without having read Derren's book, I wouldn't have got into magic recently. I think people are absolutely correct when they say that these magicians, Blaine especially, are responsible for the recent growth of interest in magic. Hell, I'm evidence of it myself.

I thought Blaine was hte be all and end all of magic before I started studying.. quickly went off the guy while my respect for what his marketing has done for magic remains.

Angel.. Im sorry, I know he is a skilled performer.. my reasons are pathetic for not liking him.. the clothes, the hair, the lisp, the overdramatic performance, the fact that his TV appearances use actors not spectators ( Am I done Yet ?.. No but Ill stop there )

Brown.. Im getting Free Tickets to his show in May so I love him !! lol..

No seriously.. didnt really have much of an opinion on him till I read his two books... Pure Effect and Tricks of the mind.. overly egotistical.. but it kinda works as that is his character.

I agree with Seige though.. I have recently been 'honoured' to see clips of Slydini and Cardini... along with some Jeff Mcbride stage performances..

OH MAN!! I can see why they are so highly regarded.. I was speechless watching cardinin.. Slydini is amazing.. very old school but his misdirection.. Im learning a lot from him by watching him.. Jeff Mcbride.. more modern obviously but his presence inspires me..

These guys are what magic is about.. What I would give to see Bobo, Vernon.. these guys and the magicians of their day perform..

That is the difference... the likes of Blaine and Angel entertain.. great magicians inspire

I can respect what each of them has brought into magic.

But personally I don't like Angel, his 'in your face' style just drives me mad. David Blaine has got about as much personality as a stone and I really don't like his dark and moody style.

Derren on the other hand I really like, he's fun and entertaining to watch. He seems like a really nice bloke. Paul Zennon is another person I really like, laid back and very matter of fact.

Is it just me, or is there a big difference between the styles of American and British magicians? I think that personally I like the British style.

i agree Lady of Mystery, i think there's a massive difference between the usa and uk versions...

some of the things i've seen (even in L&L audiences) said and done by the modern day greats i've been absolutely shocked at...very unproffesional in some instances, and others perform things in such a way that goes against all that's said in lots of books...

what especially gets me, is the use of humour in mentalism...very poor jokes, especially audience members being the but of some...tsk tsk tsk...

to me, it should be used to alieviate a post-dramatic episode where everyone is stunned/freaked out by what you've just done - then you crack a little joke just to take the feelings back down where needed...

very early blaine was pretty good, brown is always exceptional, and have only ever seen maybe 5 minutes of angel...not sure about him at first glance though...infact, i saw him on that awful Ellen Degeneres show, didnt rate him from that...

Nah, give me Derren Brown any day of the week, at least he's subtle, charming, and has a proper framework for all he does...and above all, entertaining and occasionally scarey...

i've yet to see anyone come close to the episode where he has the staring contest and the Simon Pegg bike thing...and thats just the tip of the iceberg...

I'm a big fan of Derren Brown - his stage/screen presence is excellent without being overly theatrical. He gives the impression of being an intelligent performer without being a swotty know-it-all. He's great fun.

David Blaine has done a lot to make magic 'cool' again in the mainstream, but I now find him self indulgent and dull. He has the personality of a sock, and does very little to make me sit up and take notice. His stunts especially seem quite pointless to me.

I've not seen enough of Criss Angel to really have an opinion. What I did see didn't really motivate me to hunt down more of his performances, so that probably says something.

I agree that a lot of my preferences probably comes from a difference in styles between the US and UK, but I also have to mention that I'm absolutely blown away by Richard Osterlind's style - he plays the 'ordinary guy' role perfectly without being boring, and it's incredibly disarming - and that works brilliantly in the context of mentalism.

Y'know what, i saw my mum and dad last night, my dad picked me up that blaine dvd for 97p from tescos...

he's not actually that glum or dopey on that first special...BUT, most importantly, there's a very good lesson in that special for us all - that the simplest, most cack-handed d/l can provide a massive response, if all dressed up and presented with just a splash of character...

my favourite comment was from the guy with the neckerchief and spoke from the side of his mouth, walking with a gangsta lean "i dont care if he starves to death or makes a million, thats mind boggling..."

Derren Brown, hands down.

Derren's mixture of "magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection, and showmanship" establish him as a true innovator in the world of magic today. Granted, I may be biased because we don't have many psychological illusionists (like Brown and Jermay) in the US, but I find his handling, performance, and presentation far superior than today's "made-for-TV" illusionists.

Angel and Brown are great performers, don't get me wrong. Many of their signature effects, though, could not be performed in front of a live audience. Anyone who knows anything about body language and nonverbal communication could tell you that most of the spectators you see on their shows are stooges.

Take Blaine's street levitation, for instance. While he does indeed levitate in front of a live audience, the cuts to him floating several inches off the ground are not what's really taking place. He's blatantly lying to the television audience.

Of course, Derren Brown may not always be telling the truth about his methods, but as he says in his latest book and his stage show, while he may not always be telling the truth, he's always honest about his dishonesty.

Again, Derren Brown, hands down.

As said here I really enjoyed the first Blaine special but as time goes on he gets more 'Blaine like'.

Cris Angel i find very annoying and although I've only seen one or two mindfreak programmes they seem heavily laden with big set up illusions needing stooges and camera tricks which really doesn't float my boat.

Derren Brown is without a doubt my favourite tv....mentalist? Magician? I dunno. A combination of all genres? He is original, entertaining and pretty damn funny I think.
Note to Derren : After that bit of ego massage please do a show in London

Derren Brown all the way for me. Much more interesting.

Blaine:

I understand the Blaine is an important figure in modern magic, and he did make it "cool" to do magic, and also paved the way for a lot of other modern magic shows on television. I personally dislike Blaine's style and patter, there's nothing that annoys me more than a magician who clearly takes themselves very seriously, and I think this is the definition of Blaine, who seems to be becoming a grotesque charicature of himself as the years progress.

Angel:

I think of Angel as David Blaine on speed. His effects are often in that same category (weird otherworldy effects and some dangerous or gross stuff), but he gives it a lot more gusto than Blaine, which I guess I respect, although I still dislike the arrogant swagger I think he has (whether this is genuine or not I don't know, but as a performance style I don't rate it at all). Also, the themetune to MindFreak, and the name itself in fact, just strike me as rather vulgar and over the top.

Brown:

Derren Brown is one of the reasons I got into magic, and I have a great deal of time for him as a magician, performer and "magical theorist" as it were. However, I don't see much point in comparing him to Blaine and Angel. Granted, these three are possibly the most easily recognisable names in magic at the moment, but Derren Brown does a completely different style of magic and does it in a completely different manner, not to mention being from a different country. I think a simpler discussion would be comparison on the styles of magic performed.

I think we all owe David Blaine a lot of respect ("we" includes Mr. Angel). Although sometimes his lack of patter and personallity is almost humorous, he has done so much for magic and made a much bigger market for it. I personally believe that Criss Angel wouldn't have his own show if it wasn't for Blaine.

I believe Criss Angel is becoming less of a magician. A lot of his recent performances have not been related in any way to magic (getting steamrolled, standing on screwdrivers, etc.). It seems the only magic effects he is performing these days relate to levitation. That said, I do think we owe Criss Angel a few thanks for giving magic a bigger name.

Darren Brown is by far the least known of the three (nobody knows about him here in Canada), but he is my favorite of the bunch. He just has so many great ideas and creates so many great effects. His presentation is perfect for a mentalist.

I never used to like Derren when I saw him on tv. Then I read his books and watched Devil's Picturebook and my opinion of him changed completely.

I never liked Angel and Blaine's first TV thing was good, and I always liked the Vertigo stunt he did, but everything else is pretty boring.