Thecooltonto, actually you are right, it is dumb, lol. Well Bicycle12's comment inspired me to an idea that was supposed to be fun for all of us... and also in a more serious way, to see if we could all have a little fun together even though we have completely contrary opinions about something.
I don't mind, we can drop it if you want to, and if everybody else agrees.

Well I told you in my first post on this topic that I wouldn't take part in the upcoming discussion, because I don't want to take part in one of those arguments anymore that only end up with people offending each other for their opinions.
But ok, I will reply to one thing you pointed out, the disclaimers. I can only give you my personal thoughts on this. For me and many others, the "Do you believe in ghosts? I don't!" ending was an ingenious, delicate disclaimer in the Mindfreak style. And for those who didn't get it... We all know that Criss has a huge ego, and I guess that he expects that people would do a research if they seriously want to know what his intentions are, if he claims any supernatural powers and so on. All they have to do is to search for interviews with him on youtube, and to listen what he says. Or, even better, buy his book. There he clarifies the "supernatural powers" issue very detailed, and more than once. I just think he wants people to seriously deal with him as a person if they want answers, they don't get all those answers if they only watch Mindfreak. And to find a disclaimer, it really takes very little research to find one.

You mentioned the Blaine parody... I absolutely enjoyed it, it was highly entertaining and funny to me! I laughed very hard about his imitation of the Balducci levitation, and the reason is that I found that one stupid the moment I saw it for the very first time. And no, I wasn't even already a Criss Angel fan at that time. I watched it because so many people were writing about it on the internet, so I got curious. And when I saw it (the original unedited version) I thought "Umm... that's what everybody is talking about?!" I didn't get it, I found it lame. That's no offence to Blaine, I like other tricks that he performed but he simply doesn't entertain me. Back on topic, Criss showed that he can take what he dishes out, he even featured "The real Chris Angel" in his Fantasy episode. I have no problem with those things in general, for example I enjoyed the Mad TV parody about Criss as well. I don't take these things that seriously. I didn't lose respect for Sankey because of his parody, even though I didn't like that one.
I don't understand all that hate, and why people spend a lot of time stating how much they hate somebody and constantly repeating all of the points on their list- not only when it comes to people hating Criss Angel, but in general. I simply don't get it. I can understand some of their arguments, but not that inner need to convince others who disagree. There are people out there I don't like as well, but I just ignore them as much as possible.
That's all I have to say for that matter, I respect your opinions but I have my own- bottom line, agree to disagree.

Edit: Actually, Uri didn't know the answer, he just tried to play silly psychological games with him to get clues to try to guess it. Criss stopped him because he didn't want to risk Uri studying his reactions and than the situation to look like Uri had those "powers". But why do I even write all that, just watch the video and make your own conclusion.

I'm sure you're right, thats what I would expect Geller to be doing, or either just know the answer ahead of time. I promise you I don't think Geller is psychic lol. I just think if he had known the answer it was good thinking on his part to find out somehow.

The Blaine "parody" was not a parody. The Mad TV parody of Angel was a parody. It was making fun of him but not insulting him, well other than implying he uses actors but he deserves that insult since he does use them because magic should never rely on an actor. A confederate/ assistant is ok, but not a stooge/ actor.

Your opinion on the Balduci levitation shows your distaste for the art of magic. Since you have a lack of appreciation of the Balduci levitation simply because it has been rampantly exposed and because Angel mocked Blaine doing it, it shows you don't appreciate magic overall, but actually appreciate Angel's hype, presentation, acting, camera trickery, and the other common elements of his show. You perceive Mindfreak as magic when it is not magic but a form of entertainment created by Angel. Its hollywood movie magic in truth. Anyway I am actually able to perform the Balduci levitation correctly because I get how to present it so that the audience thinks nothing of the odd viewing angle and as a result I have blown away hundreds of people, just like Blaine. Other magicians also have made great use of this levitation, I heard Daniel Garcia talking about it once for example, and I'm sure magicians on here will tell you how good it is. You simply dislike it because it is not a camera trick levitation that goes 4 feet into the air like what Angel does on Mindfreak. Thats movie magic. The Balduci levitation is magic.

I realize you said you were going to stay out of this, but seriously, if that was the case why talk about what Angel did with Callahan and bring up the fictional battle deal? I don't mind you discussing this if for some reason you like Angel, but at the same time I do ask you discuss what is being discussed and not other stuff, like you're doing again talking about why you weren't going to discuss this stuff lol.

I don't get how you can like someone that has done the stuff I pointed out. I know you want to like Angel because he's the famous magician on tv right now, but seriously, there are lots of other famous magicians on tv more talented than Angel that don't do the things he does. I mean Blaine has a special coming on in a month, and he is a great guy probably from what I have seen and read, and decently skilled, nothing spectacular but decent, so why not be a Blaine fan? That has a logical reason behind it. I'm a fan of Blaine's, and I can tell you my reasons too, the main one being I like the way he made magic on tv real again and connected to a television audience with magic again because people knew he wasn't just using actors and camera trickery, which they were always assuming watching any magic on tv before Blaine for a certain period of time. Angel is now returning people to that mentality sadly.

Ok, I just decided to reply again, because I see you are somebody it's able to talk with on an appropriate level. Like I said, all I wanted was not to end up in a personal fight like it has happened before.
You got me completely wrong in some points, let me try to explain it more detailed- though I think I did it before in other topics. Let me clarify that I have a lot of respect for the art of magic itself, but there's no accounting about taste. And the Balducci just isn't for me. Remember that I experienced it as a layman, and I had seen a video of Criss' levitation just before that one- and I mean the one that's for sale, not anything doubtable. And now I know that there are so many other great levitations that have nothing to do with camera trickery but which I find much more impressive than the Balducci. Also maybe I should mention that I always prefered to watch stage magic instead of traditional street magic, I always loved the huge illusions- that's why I connected with what I saw Criss doing in first line. I respect Blaine as a magician and I watch videos of him from time to time, but I watch them only because of the tricks, since I stepped into the art myself- his style and presentation simply don't entertain me much. Just because I do not like every single magic trick I've ever seen, doesn't mean that I have no respect for the art. Your conclusion came off a little too fast in this case.

You want to know why I like Criss Angel? There are so many reasons. Mainly I like him because he's a many-sided artist. He does many different kinds of magic, he does escapes and stunts that I love to watch, even things that look like fakir stuff from time to time. And he's also a musician and an actor. I love his music. I have read his book and agree with almost everything he states in it. I just connect with him, and there it comes to a point that is hard to explain, because it's about emotions. Many of my points of views seem to be equal with his, or let's say with those he shows to the outside. I don't know him personally, but I decided to believe in him. I never "wanted" to like him for any reason- it just happened. I was able to overcome a fear that really had a huge influence on my life, just because I could believe in him when he talked about fears in Mindfreak, and did those stunts and illusion that deal with it. He convinced me on a certain level, literally pushed me, and I will always be grateful for that. I was a Loyal long before I stepped into the art of magic. I've seen other great magicians, mainly because Criss featured some of them in his show. Without him, maybe I wouldn't know about them to date. I had lost my interest in magic for quite a while, then I saw him and was captivated again. He will always be the one who got me into magic. And I don't believe that he uses as many camera tricks as some people think. So many people screamed "Camera trick! Stooges!" when they saw his trash can illusion, for example, while even I as a layperson can think of a method he could have done it without all that. I think that goes for many other things, too. And even if he does a camera trick from time to time, his show entertains me. I loved his style and presentation from the beginning.
Puh, are that enough reasons for you? I'm getting tired of typing, lol. Oh wait, last but not least, I am a woman... and he simply attracts me. But this is far away from being one of my main reasons.

P.S.: I apologize for coming up with that silly battle if it bothered you. Like I said, I just wanted to experience if we all were able to have a little fun together, even though we completely disagree when it comes to Criss Angel. Didn't want to make anybody mad, and some guys here seem to have enjoyed it. Sorry thecooltonto.

Edit: I forgot something, as far as I understand, a confederate and a stooge are exactly the same. Anywhere in this forum I've seen a topic about it, don't remember anymore who pointed it out.

Lol don't worry about the battle I came off sounding agitated, same with my remarks about your opinion of the Balduci levitation. I think the whole battle thing was pointless and I think you have a lack of appreciation for the Balduci levitation because you have not payed attention to it being performed well, or can't perform it well yourself (not an insult) like lots of other magicians because they know the secret like laymen but not how to actually do it. (You need to at least walk around a little first then randomly stop to justify the odd angle and it needs to be done for more than one or two people etc, etc....) I have to get to college though so I will reply to this later, I just wanted to mention that real quick.

Correction : Every REAL Magician Hates Criss Angel.

Lance Burton and Joaquin Ayala are no real magicians? Just to name two.
He's also befriend with The Amazing Jonathan, so he's actually more a comedian than a magician, but all this "every magician hates him" discussion is just bs. Nobody can accroach to speak for everybody.



No, I never performed it myself, though I know how it works. When I watched it the first time, I didn't know the secret, I was a 100% layperson, but it just didn't impress me visual. I never doubted that many people are impressed by a good performance of it, but I wasn't and my friend, who watched the video together with me, said the same. It's just a personal opinion, doesn't mean it's a bad levitation. I didn't say "it is lame", I just found it lame after I've seen other levitations that impressed me more- and I only want to learn and perform things that impressed me when I watched them without knowing the secret. If I were going to perform a levitation myself, I would do a different one that allows to go up a little higher- for me, that would be Criss' one, because it's my favourite of those i've seen so far that would work for me. I know the basic secret but want to save money and buy it before I'll ever do it myself.

Save your money and get something decent. It's completely impractical, difficult to make CORRECTLY, and something that you would probably never use..Unless you are able to do it on TV. $100 to buy the DVD and another $100 to build the freaking gimmick...Total waste of time, money and materials.

I understand your arguments, but for me it's worth the money, I already thought a lot about it. It's a cool levitation, I know how angle sensitive it is but can think of enough situations to perform it. I would for sure spend enough time in making the gimmick and in practice to do it correctly and perfectly. I love to watch it and know the basic secret, so my conclusion is I will have fun performing it. Maybe I could recreate it even without buying the DVD... but I want to pay him credit for it and also rather get the detailed instructions to get it done perfectly.
Anyway, there are other, more practical tricks that I want to buy first, so it will take a while before I finally can purchase it.
But thanks for your advice, I know you just want to help.

After seeing Angel do it on TV, I sat down to think of a way to duplicate the effect. . . it took 15minutes for me to duplicate the effect and method to the letter.

If it was that easy, it isn't worth $100.

Just because you as a professional can easily figure something out, doesn't mean that a trick is bad. I as a layperson had no clue before I saw what crap happened to this illusion on the internet... But I still know enough people who have no idea because they don't search for things like that.
Oh and last but not least: I want to support Criss Angel, and I love the illusion.

Remember his Deja Vu demonstration?

"This is gonna be a one continuing shot, what you see is what you get."

Heck, TWO seconds after that, the shot was cut.

There are plenty of effects I can't figure out Ananya - this one just wasn't that good, nor is it worth $100.

Secondly, there's something to be said for effects I've purchased AFTER knowing how they where done. I can think of many examples of effects or props that I was given the secrets to and purchased them if only for the brilliance of the concept.

Since you feel this need to support Angel, buy Sinful instead and just send him a check for the rest - at least that's a decent effect.

Sinful was created by Wayne Houchin. So why does Angel get the money?

Why do you think?

Really I have no clue, that's why I asked.