Magic Is Real
OK, I was just completely astounded by some stuff I saw on YouTube by a magician named Chris Angel.
If anyone has ANY ideas at ALL on how he might DO any of these tricks, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts...
I'm posting the links to the videos here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=K8vo88TZd...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bdGdXJhXd...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tbNLFUi7C...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XbiPtC0-C...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4IwcBADkz...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nc9uAsdqM...=Chris%20Angel
The walking on water one and the one where he cuts the girl in half are especially baffling.
Any thoughts, anyone?
If anyone has ANY ideas at ALL on how he might DO any of these tricks, I would LOVE to hear your thoughts...
I'm posting the links to the videos here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=K8vo88TZd...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bdGdXJhXd...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tbNLFUi7C...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XbiPtC0-C...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4IwcBADkz...=Chris%20Angel
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Nc9uAsdqM...=Chris%20Angel
The walking on water one and the one where he cuts the girl in half are especially baffling.
Any thoughts, anyone?
Comments
Good stuff though.
If he can do all of those things, he wouldn't have a problem predicting the winning powerball numbers and donating the money??
My niece, LeAnn, has for several years been a part of the Kirby VanBirch magic show in Branson, MO. She dances, participates in some tricks, and according to Kirby is one of the best when it comes to getting "sawn in half".
There is a serious sort of "honor among magicians" and unfortunately she will NOT reveal any of the tricks, damn! However, I can at least tell you this much. She can and does fit only in the top half of the box as the saw LITERALLY does saw thru it. Now, how someone(she?) twinkles the toes & feet that protrude from the bottom portion of the box, I do not know. LeAnn only gives that goofy smile of hers.
I saw the show a couple of years ago and was amazed and totally impressed. Most tricks work because of distraction, smoke, mirrors, and light vs shadow vs dead black. Still, knowing how a trick 'might' be done, is no help when that full size chopper with 40' rotor magically appears on the stage.
Paz
The one where the woman splits in half was f-ing hilarious. It was a midget I guess?? Notice how he picked someone else first and then said she was too short.
Yes, I agree with you guys, some of the tricks seem like just normal magic tricks, and easy to figure out.
But some of them are IMPOSSIBLE.
Like this one:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z6gR1Itdx...%20Angel%20saw
And this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CYc36RipY...%20Angel%20saw
I mean, there is no possible explanation. It HAS to be digitally edited film. How else could he do that one with the coin?
I mean, walking on water is easy, he must have something floaty hidden in his pant legs, note how they hang down over his feet. Or he's just walking on Plexiglass.... The audience would notice but maybe their all in on it?
But the coin one.... I mean, even with a fake arm, how would he make a lump move down his arm?
TV magic is so much harder to guess than live magic, I like live way better.......
Can anybody think of how he does the one sawing the girl in half though?
Chris Angel is also notorious for having a good chunk of the "spectators" actually be assistants.
Personally, I don't find him very entertaining because it borders on, or arguably is, just trick photography with some actors and props.
A thin flesh colored latex/silicone sleeve.
A receptacle at the top for inserting the coin.
A magnet to shuttle the coin.
A magnet in the other hand to pull the first one along.
See?
Note the heavy wristband on the arm that he cuts. (Hides the terminus of the fake layer.) Note also the relative lack of bleeding.
A "saw in half" trick is almost always dependent on a cleverly built compartmented stage rig, with one contortionist playing the "head" end and another playing the "leg" end. The trick depends on the audience not realizing just how compactly and quickly a flexible person can "fold" themselves, plus a rig that looks a lot less spacious than it really is. Of course, there's the occasional horrible accident when someone's a little slow.
If you ever have the chance to visit an exceptional magic club (like the Magic Castle in Los Angeles), you will be astounded at the skill of great sleight-of-hand magicians, even when they're literally right in front of you.
Originally posted by Voxapps
Penn & Teller
There exists no better live act.
--B
Penn & Teller are the BEST magicians ever.
They're WAY more entertaining than Chris Angel because they have great jokes and stuff to go along with their tricks.
I was amazed by this Chris Angel stuff at first, but watching them again, you guys are right. I see that is how they did the coin one, and giant's explanation makes sense for the one where he saws a girl in half. The walking on water one confounded me, but if he does have most of the audience be in on it, then that one is pretty simple too.
Penn & Teller are still tops in my book.
I'd like to see Penn or Teller levitate and float over to one rooftop to another.
Originally posted by Outsider
What a fucking bastard. If I had real magic, I'd be curing limp kids and turning water into beer.
You are such a good man. Me, I'd use my powers to make coins come out of kids' ears for tips at the Restaurant of Magic.
Originally posted by Mac_Doll
I love you guys, so delightfully skeptical and cynical, which isn't a bad thing, but Criss Angel is the real deal. I love it when people try to apply scientific reasoning to every aspect of this world.
That's because, by definition, the universe is governed by science. If Mr. Angel does legitimately have the power to fly, then it's because he has control over gravity, or at least knows someone who does.
You're into the occult stuff... wiki the Coral Castle.
Originally posted by Mac_Doll
I'm sorry, but faith can be a good thing,
Yes.
and some things in life can't be rationally explained. Most things are, but some aren't.
I vehemently disagree. Leaving it at blind faith is just accepting ignorance.
Lightning was once the realm of the gods, but now almost anyone can channel it on demand out of our walls.
Just because something doesn't *currently* have an explanation, doesn't mean it *never* will. To think so is to really trivialize how far we've come from painting on cave walls to influence the hunt.
But then, I'm just a silly woman.
Wow, as a *man* I find that last comment sexist and offensive. Jeez.
"TV magic is just so lame."
"And people call us magicians, like that's a good thing."