Have you seen David Blaine's Magic? (1 Viewer)

[MickeS]

Bill, that's a good point about the levitation shots, the shots of Blaine's feet close up are indeed NOT what the spectators saw, that was edited in later for the TV show.

So I guess in that sense it's "doctored".

/Mike

 

[Ted Lee]

staneley! i has to know! don't hide...divide!

 

[Randy Tennison]

DING DING DING DING DING

Bill wins the prize. In fact, David does the "toe lift" (as described above)levitation for the crowd, which wows them, but then came back in with stand-ins wearing similar clothing to that worn by the spectator (notice, you never see their faces) for shots of him "levitating", where he was raised off the ground by wires and pulleys. Cut them together, and you get a pretty amazing feat!

The quarter penetration trick can be purchased at any magic store for around $35.00. It's pretty damned impressive when you see the craftmanship built into it, but not amazing. I bought my quarter 15 years ago.

Actually, any magic done well can be pretty impressive. My favorite trick to do is "crazy man's handcuffs", using the two rubber bands, which seem to pass through each other in front of your eyes. Nothing hard about it, but it does get some big reactions.

By the way, the reactions he gets from the crowd are large. Why? He doesn't show the small reaction shots. He probably did the tricks 20 times to get that "one" big reaction.

If you want to see amazing sleight of hand, check out some of the lesser known magicians working. There are some true artists out there. People who have spent years learing how to perfect these tricks, rather than buying a gimmick at the nearest magic/costume shop, as Blaine did.

 

[MikeSerrano]

Blaine's best tricks (IMO) are his card tricks--which, unfortunately, you don't get to see too much of in the special.

He was on Conan O'Brien a few years back (when he was just breaking out on the scene) and the card tricks he did were simply awesome, in the literal sense of the word. Conan was totally freaked out and was worried that Blaine might steal his soul or something (okay, I'm exaggerating a bit but that's the way I remember it).

-Mike

 

[Brett Hancock]

I first saw David Blaine on the hilarious South Park episode the super best friends. Then when I saw this special I laughed even more at how well South Park did his twaaa voice thing. Classic.

Conan was totally freaked out and was worried that Blaine might steal his soul or something

 

[Tom Rags]

It is true that ANYONE can do the levitation, also called the Balducci Illusion. It is very true that if you do it to "yourself" in front of a mirror, it will freak YOURSELF out when you do it. Follow the above instructions carefully and try it. I've convinced more than one person that I was the devil by doing this trick at parties. The illusion is that good even though everyone knows you are on your toes.

 

[StanleyK]

saw the show and can tell you...it's all about editing. He does the trick by rising on his toes and gets some reactions from the spectators. Then later they get some shots of his feet lifting off the ground (he's being lifted for these shots) and they edit it in to make it look like the spectators are reacting from what we saw. Simple.

 

[Jason Boucher]

The tricks that get me involve a chosen card appearing in someone's shoe, or on the other side of a window pane, or in a beer bottle. The only explanation that doesn't violate the laws of physics involves a staged volunteer that is assisting with the trick.

 

[Ike]

Stanley,

My number was 15.

 

[MickeS]

Mine was 37, close enough. I'm sure that, like Stanley says, there would be enough people who say 35 to edit it so it looks as he's guessing right every time. But "magic" is all about cheating the audience anyway!
/Mike

 

[Bill Catherall]

All the possibilites to Stanley's trick are 13, 15, 17, 19, 31, 35, 37, and 39. But when given a choice between two numbers, most people tend to aim in the middle. So they'd pick somthing in the thirties. So you've got a little less than 25% chance of picking it right. But if most people aim for the middle of the given choices, then they'll probably also aim for the middle of the 30's, which makes the chance of you "victim" picking 35 or 37 even greater.
So yeah...all David has to do is get 2 or 3 "hits" and those are the ones they show on TV.
I've got another one:
Think of the number 2
Now double it
Double that number
Double it again
Double it again
and again
once more
Now think of a vegetable
It's a carrot

 

[StanleyK]

Mine was 37, close enough

Close enough??? I hit it exactly!!
You would have been on TV Micke!
Bill, Yours should be a little different I think...
Think of the Number 2
Now double it
Now Add 2 to that
Now Double it
Double it again
NOW think of a Vegetable....
See? My number is one that more people associate with the homonym of that vegetable.

 

[MickeS]

Stanley, oops, my number was 35, not 37, that's why I said "close enough".

And that carrot thing is weird, I've read it before, and I always think of "carrot", don't know why. There's a similar one with tools, and the answer is "hammer". I guess those are the two things people think of most commonly when asked to quickly name a tool and a vegetable.

/Mike

 

[RobertR]

My favorite place to see magic in Southern California is The Magic Castle in Hollywood. It has several rooms (including one with a large stage) where you can see magic acts. For people who are trying to see "how they do it", there's the "close up room", where you're almost literally sitting next to the magician.

 

[kevin_tomb]

YEAH...blaine is a fake, but damn it sure looks cool still. I saw something on TV a while back showing how he did it all. He actually has the street people "go along" with his tricks so it looks as if they are being impressed. Also they edit in sequences in some tricks. Still Id say hes impressive even if it is all fake

Kevin

 

[StanleyK]

YEAH...blaine is a fake

This is wrong Kevin. David Blaine is most certainly not a fake, he is a very talented close-up magician. Some of the "tricks" in his TV special are doctored so as to look more "impressive" to the viewing audience, but that doesn't mean he's a "fake"
Unless of course you are being pedantically literal and meaning that in pure theory...every magician is a fake.

 

[Derek Miner]

It is true that ANYONE can do the levitation, also called the Balducci Illusion. It is very true that if you do it to "yourself" in front of a mirror, it will freak YOURSELF out when you do it. Follow the above instructions carefully and try it. I've convinced more than one person that I was the devil by doing this trick at parties. The illusion is that good even though everyone knows you are on your toes.

I got so annoyed by a woman where I work who SWORE that the levitation was real and he could do it because he had done some pact with the devil or something. Can't argue with this woman either... sigh.

I had originally thought there were mirrors involved, but at least now I know how it's really done.

 

[Derrik Draven]

DAMN!!!! I DID figure out Blain's levitation trick...*personal celebration moment*
I have to admit though, when they finally showed his feet "CLEARLY" leaving the ground, at the end of the show, I was totally in awe. I had ZERO idea how he did it. Figured he was standing on his toes on 1 foot while raising the other but, when they showed his feet with the very open gap between them and the ground......blew me away.
NEVER would've guessed that they would've "edited" the show to that degree. My respect for Blaine has definitely gone down.

 

[Jeremy Jones]

I think the reason they "edited" the show was to show you what the gawkers saw. If you watch him do it 'for real' he only lifts up as much as his feet would allow him. The "edited" part shows him lifting up a good 2 feet. That's doctored, but more likely what they 'thought' they saw. Anywho, it's still an impressive trick you can do on your friends. I really FREAKED out my parents! Heheheh! They figured I was into devil worship or somehthing!

 

[Eve T]

Okay...I've been staring in my mirror for about 20 minutes trying to perfect this "illusion" sometimes it's hard for me to keep my balance.
So where is the best place to have my friends stand behind me as not to see my toes on my one foot that are still on the ground? I need a little assistance here.
David Copperfield is going to be in town here in a few days and I really would like to go see him. I've always respected him as a great performer who really cares about his audience and fans. I like that he puts a lot of theatrics into his shows.
Cheers,
Eve