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I was recently informed of a Blaine interview, during which he reaches into his chest cavity (in a very gory manner) and removes his heart.
He then 'dies' in his chair.

I found the movie clip and downloaded it, then watched it.

The guy has gone quite mad. And any mentions of him NOT using prosthetics this time will be immediately ignored!!!

He's pulled string from his stomach, put needles through his hand, nailed nails in with his fist...

Surely he's lost the plot, somewhere???
These shock-tactics are not magical anymore, somehow, although Yankee Tom may be wise to offer his services to any future 'Blainalikes'

It is actually possible to reach into your chest and remove your still beating heart using a carefully placed piercing, try it and you'll see!

Nick, have you been talking to Daleshrimpton

I agree entirely. I like his magic but I think his approach to it is very poor. He always seems too casual about things and I think it puts people off, he is a good magician but a poor performer. Does anybody else think he looks like Craig David

Just a couple of questions...

If David Blaine is such a poor performer then why does everybody know who he is, what he does, buy his book, watch him on TV, buy his videos etc... etc.....

and why does everybody rush to buy the effects/gimmicks that he does/uses as soon as they've seen a TV special ?

If any of you could give me the answers I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Actually, David Blaine is a very skilled performer but the main reason he's known is due to all the hype and promotion surrounding his stunts and TV specials. This is how US TV works and it's the same in many other parts of the world.

The tricks/effects he does are largely already well known but he has certainly caused an upsurge of interest in magic and, whatever else is said about the guy, he's at least done that for Magic in general. If folks new to magic rush out and buy 'his' effects then they're probably missing out on some of the more impressive items which are gained through reading the standard works on magic but, if that's what rings their bells, then who are we to say they're wrong?

If you check through the previous postings, you'll probably see that the general consensus is that David is a skilled magician but has somehow been sidetracked into using camera trickery in at least one routine, and heavy and misleading editing in others. OK, this is what happens on TV but it dilutes his overall effect and reputation. Having said that, I'm sure David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Paul Daniels, Wayne Dobson and all other who have had TV shows will have had their efforts edited to give the best presentation - I doubt they'd have used camera trickery though!

IMHO, David Blaine could be far better than he is by dropping the 'Mental Messiah' persona and the daft stunts and just doing some good magic.

Of course, I could easily be wrong!!

Pennywise

Blaine is NOT fully considered a poor performer. He's simply not everyone's cup of tea. He's good at what he does, but his ego outweighs the illusions - and he sees himself as some sort of messiah.
As far as the apparent 'worship' and fame of the guy, if you consider everyone knows who Jack the Ripper was, but that does not make HIM a GOOD man, does it??? He became famous for wrongdoing. It's called Infamy.

And secondly, they're not HIS gimmicks or tricks people are rushing out to buy - they're illusions and effects that have been around for years, and the only people rushing to buy them are would-be 'Blaine-alikes' who have been drawn in by his apparently 'amazing' magic after seeing a show...

The one and only resounding criticism of the guy is his ego. But in fairness, he's given magic a kick-start that it so sorely needed, and bought more diverse effects to the main stream, rather than the almost done-to-death public image of magi producing rabbits from hats, doves from hankies and sawing women in half.

But the negative consequence of all this is the destruction of some of Magic's mysticism, perpetuated by the supposed spiritual side he exhibits. He's possibly a more accomplished actor than a magician, although there are obvious parallels between the two. Let's hope that the public don't suddenly associate Magician's with Blaine... I'd hate that to happen...

It is reasonable for your own opinion to be high of Blaine, and to use him as a role model is your choice - if that's how you want to do magic...

But Blaine simply took his work from the underground and cleverly marketed himself via stunts and performances which have now evidently become his downfall.

And Mandrake mentions camera trickery... where's the magic in that???

There are as many disciples of Blaine as there are critics, I'm sure...

But then again, not everyone likes sugar in their tea - if they indeed like tea at all...

I am soooo tempted to quote Kenneth Williams in Carry On Cleo, 'Infamy, infamy - they've all got it in for me!'.

But I won't.

And secondly, they're not HIS gimmicks or tricks people are rushing out to buy - they're illusions and effects that have been around for years

What do you mean? He does all his tricks by sleight of hand and skill, there are no gimmicks or tricks! I know this because he said so in his book (or so I was told). He says he is now a "pure" Magician




In saying that I must confess to still being entertained by his TV shows. Shame about the camera tricks though. There was no excuse for that...Shame on you David.

You've got it in one! Without that trickery his effect would have been much stronger. Having said that, if one of his specials were on TV tonight I'd be watching it!

And that's the point: it's compulsive viewing.

But saying that, anything on TV which involves magic is of interest to a magician, just as anything on TV related to Kylie Minogue is of interest to young lads (you're only as old as you feel!)

We can't deny that he's a good businessman.
Neither can we totally slate him for the use of camera-trickery.
We can't even fault the tricks he DOES do.

But it's a truth that we CAN choose whether we like him or not.
And before some smart Alec pipes up and says "Well, you're only ripping into him because you're jealous" - I'd say - Yes, I'm jealous of his financial standing, but no, I'm not at all jealous of his reputation or ability.

However, I would say I'm ENVIOUS of Lennart Green, Marlo, Vernon, Derren Brown, Paul Zenon, Jay Sankey, Jerry Sadowitz, Paul Daniels, Mulica, Hugard, Braue, Goshman, Kapps etc. etc. etc. etc...

Hope that answers your questions.

I hope that none of you thought that 'I' was saying David Blaine was a bad performer, on the contrary, I simply wanted to know why people give him such harsh critisism when he clearly is very good at what he does whether it is magic or stunts or even camera trickery - it still looks good doesn't it ? it's still entertaining isn't it ? afterall everything we do as magicians is simply an ellusion.

Regarding his performance do you really think that celebs would pay for a poor magician to perform for them ?

I would think that his private shows (the likes that we will probably never see) are infinatley more impressive than his TV specials, in which you can occasionaly see some astounding card control.
But if I gave anybody reason to think that I was moaning about him I'm sorry I really wasn't, I actually admire him but, I do NOT base myself on or any thing like him.
There is only room for one David Blaine or Daryl or Paul Daniels or Ricky Jay etc...............

I'm sure that the more personal, up close special events that Blaine does for his celebrity friends are far superior to his TV efforts.

This has been discussed elsewhere on the forum, and so has Blaine.

There's never offence taken here - but if you ask for questions, be prepared for answers!!!

The first time i seen David Blaine perfrom magic i was in awe of this guy. I could not believe the reactions he got when he went on the streets of America. David Blaine was the one that got me interested in Magic but some of his illusions are mad

seige wrote:Nick, have you been talking to Daleshrimpton

its nice to be remembered.

this effect, ( i too have seen the clip) is something on the lines of the phsycic surgery popular in the Philippines. basic sleights, coupled with misdirection.
Also, look at the heart rip in " Indiana jones and the temple of doom"
very simular indeed.