The sad thing about Criss Angel

Jan 15, 2008
2
0
move on

Just a little common sense you dont win magician of the year 2 years because your great at CAMERA TRICKS. Point is Criss is better then you give him credit for and would run rings around alot of us. Stop pissing and moaning and complaining and go out and perform forget Criss.
 
Sep 1, 2007
209
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Criss Angel isn't a magician, he's an entertainer. I only watch his show for entertainment, not to be fooled. I know what he's doing uses camera trick and stooges, but it looks cool and is entertaining. It's like watching Independence Day, knowing its just special effects, but its still entertaining. I think David Blaine is defiantly better at magic than Criss. Also, I think the reason he says "I hate card tricks", is because he can't do them. There are tricks he does that can be done in real life, like Sinful, his casino coin matrix, and a few other simple things. Criss knows that those tricks won't get as good of a reaction, if he did something completely impossible with camera tricks. That's about all I have to say about that.
 
Feb 14, 2008
129
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New Engalnd
to me, yes he's NOT A MAGICIAN. We all agree on that or some of us ^^ like theguy26 lol. But he's more of a person to pretend he's magic. Kind of like david blaine, but i personally like him. Real magicians don't tell them really a true answer. But Criss makes people believe he's magical. I just don't like that about him. Although i do like this topic very much.
 
Sep 2, 2007
87
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Las Vegas, NV
The dude's been into magic since he was a little kid. Sure his show is full of stunts and stage illusions, but the content of what he put's on the show doesn't mean that it's the complete sum of his knowledge or ability in magic.

I wouldn't doubt that he put his time into learning card slieghts, like many of us in these forums.

Not to take anything away from "Card-Men", I'm a card man myself. But think about what Dexter said on W:H's Control DVD: "When you break out a deck of cards or coins or something like that, people automatically assume you're going to do a magic trick. But when you bring something to the table such as making something move, levitate, making something change state (liquid to a solid) or in this case, stopping your pulse, you get away from Magic Trick, and you get closer to reality, something that's more real."

Yeah, we card guy's can take that really personal and get offended... whatever. But understand, he's essentially saying whatever medium of magic you choose to present to your audience has it's own stigma, expectation, and reaction.
 
Dec 5, 2007
376
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Well, the show is not for magicians becaus if it were it would not get past season 1. He does the show for non magicians and he gives the audience what they want and probably what A&E wants him to do, stunts and shock magic. And to get alot of people to watch his show he has to do what he does. If he started doing close up magic he would not get as many viewers as he has now. Also alot of what he does can be done in the real world.

He has been doing magic since he was a kid and have had a long running Stage show wich i have seen and he did some of the "camera" trick stuff on it.

And yes Dan and dave are probably far superior at doing flourishes to Criss angel. But Criss angel are probably far superior then dan and dave at stage magic and escapes? Everyone does different things.

People loves criss angel and he has worked hard to get where he is.

People who are walking around and thinking about this should really do something better with their time like going out and do some magic.
 
Sep 2, 2007
221
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In the early days of his show, he used to do sleight of hand all the time, and most of it was actually pretty good. That element of the show started to die off as his fan base seemed to be getting pulled into the bigger stuff.

What I think is sad is that people are still on these magic forums trying to belittle someone who has won Magic Castle's Magician of the Year award on more than one occasion. Regardless of whether or not you like him, Criss Angel is a good magician who excels at the type of magic he does.
 
Dec 17, 2007
1,291
2
31
Melbourne, Australia
I, for one, blame A&E for a lot of it. They demanded it, and he gave in, which a heap of people would have done if they were getting the amount of money he gets.

It's business. Simple.
 
Nov 30, 2007
821
0
Doesn't Criss have his own show coming at the Luxor...if so he can't use camera tricks there, so he would have to have talent. I don't really like Criss Angel but I do think that he probably has talent.
 
Sep 4, 2007
207
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Kansas City
Maybe we all could take a lesson from Criss Angel?

It's easy to hate someone thats on the top. And as was stated eariler, he is an "entertainer". Which, in all reality is what every one of us should be. We are here to entertain people. Sometimes its a shame that so many of us forget that. If you can do it with a quarter and a straw, fantastic... if you do it with a multimillion dollar stage show, even better... because obviously if you're spending multimillions, you've got multimillions.

The man is successful at what he does. The only thing I don't agree with is that he uses many magicians tricks and passes them off as his own. I'm sure he pays quite well for the rights to use them... *cough* Sinful *cough*... and to be honest, if it wasn't for A&E this website probably wouldn't exist. Lest we all forget that Wayne Houchin was an "advisor" on Mindfreak... which in turn paid the bills, which in turn allowed for some financial freedom in order to start Theory 11?

And if you don't respect the speed and accuracy of Angel's Metamorphasis then you're just plain lost in the sauce. That one amazes even the most hardened stage magician.

So, I guess the whole main bullet point of this post is to quit hating on someone that has given so much to the magic community. Maybe he's not the best, but he's a damned good marketing executive... and David Blaine and Criss Angel made magic mainstream and popular again, which in turn is allowing for me to pay my bills.
 
Dec 17, 2007
1,291
2
31
Melbourne, Australia
Maybe we all could take a lesson from Criss Angel?

It's easy to hate someone thats on the top. And as was stated eariler, he is an "entertainer". Which, in all reality is what every one of us should be. We are here to entertain people. Sometimes its a shame that so many of us forget that. If you can do it with a quarter and a straw, fantastic... if you do it with a multimillion dollar stage show, even better... because obviously if you're spending multimillions, you've got multimillions.

The man is successful at what he does. The only thing I don't agree with is that he uses many magicians tricks and passes them off as his own. I'm sure he pays quite well for the rights to use them... *cough* Sinful *cough*... and to be honest, if it wasn't for A&E this website probably wouldn't exist. Lest we all forget that Wayne Houchin was an "advisor" on Mindfreak... which in turn paid the bills, which in turn allowed for some financial freedom in order to start Theory 11?

And if you don't respect the speed and accuracy of Angel's Metamorphasis then you're just plain lost in the sauce. That one amazes even the most hardened stage magician.

So, I guess the whole main bullet point of this post is to quit hating on someone that has given so much to the magic community. Maybe he's not the best, but he's a damned good marketing executive... and David Blaine and Criss Angel made magic mainstream and popular again, which in turn is allowing for me to pay my bills.

*applauds*
 
Sep 2, 2007
221
0
Okay, I'm going to have to disagree wholeheartedly with that last post. EVERY magician passes his tricks off as his own. Criss Angel never stands up and says he created something unless he actually did. I've never met a magician who would stand up and say, "By the way, the trick I'm about to perform is called 'Torn' and I didn't create it, Daniel Garcia did." Spectators should never be privy to anything that goes on behind the scenes of a show they're witnessing, and that includes the fact that our effects have names and creators. I would be absolutely appalled if I ever heard any performer credit a trick's creator during an actual performance for spectators because to do so would give them a an insight into our world that should be at least suspended during a performance. As long as Criss isn't claiming he created effects that he did not, I have no problem with him.

I'll probably get blasted for saying this, but I think the whole "give credit where it's due" thing is the only part of the Magician's code that many magicians seem to care about any more. With the arrival of youtube and the like, forum members everywhere like to harp about how creators are having their pockets picked. We get so vexed over it that when a professional magician appears on tv and performs an effect that we happen to know he didn't create, we get all bent out of shape and say, "He should have given Wayne Houchin some kind of credit for that trick." Well, he does. On the dvd teaching the trick. It is clear that he collaborated with Houchin and received his full permission and blessing to use Sinful on his show. This thinking by magicians about nothing but "credit" lately is absolutely preposterous and is hurting magic as a whole. I firmly believe that creators should be recognized and paid handsomely for their efforts, but that's for us magicians to worry about amongst ourselves, behind the scenes. Not on stage, and not in front of the cameras.

I said this before, but it was evidently glossed over, so I'll say it again because it bears repeating. Criss Angel is not sad. He is a professional performer who is fulfilling his dream and bringing magic to an audience and fan base that absolutely loves what he does. What's sad is the army of people who are belittling him because they don't think his particular brand of magic is what they think of as "legitimate." I say that as long as people are amazed and entertained by what Criss does, he's doing exactly what he should be doing.
 
Dec 17, 2007
1,291
2
31
Melbourne, Australia

I said this before, but it was evidently glossed over, so I'll say it again because it bears repeating. Criss Angel is not sad. He is a professional performer who is fulfilling his dream and bringing magic to an audience and fan base that absolutely loves what he does. What's sad is the army of people who are belittling him because they don't think his particular brand of magic is what they think of as "legitimate." I say that as long as people are amazed and entertained by what Criss does, he's doing exactly what he should be doing.

Especially when a lot of it is legit.
 
I stopped reading after the first post cause I need to have this said. I don't fully understand the need for these threads cause there only trivial and get us no where in magic. Chris is an Illusionists and thats his job period! He has been in magic before most of you knew what it was and he probably knows more than you could imagine. There is a serious lack of respect for our fellow performers and some of us need to do some soul searching of our own. I'm not an Angel fan but there is a sense if imaturity to these type of threads and their useless. Let's try and stay focused on the bigger issues please.

Shane:)
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
With all that money, with all that jewlery, with all that eye liner, I would like to see him try to fool Aaron Fisher or Lee Asher with a card trick.

Because the measure of a magician is his ability to fool other magicians, right?

I know he won't but I sure would like him to read this post.

And that would accomplish what, exactly?

He doesn't do close up, or stage magic, he does CAMERA TRICKS.

Watch Supernatural and get back to me when you have a clue.

I don't know why people make such a big fuss over Criss.

They need somebody to crap on to feel better about themselves. Granted, I feel better about myself when I hear that someone richer than me is making another trip to Betty Ford, but this just crosses into the grotesque.
 
Feb 8, 2008
53
0
It is annoying though when you perform TORN or something and the only reaction you get is "Wow! Can you levitate like that guy on TV too?" Yes, it has happened to me.
 
Thats NOT a sad thing...the man works 18 hour days to promote our art and take magic to another level and he brings it to the biggest stage he possibly can...and thats TV! He OPENLY admits that he is NOT an expert in one field....

If your gonna say its sad that Criss is not an expert...then you also relize that Harry Houdini probably wouldn't stand a chance in mentalism....or I'd like to see him read Derren Browns mind......

You dont have to like criss....but realize he appeals to MILLIONS of viewers! He must be doing somethin right. Criss Angel is his Charactor.....just like everyone else who is a magician...Ex: David Blaine, David Copperfield, and Houdini......they LIVE the part. Dont hate them for it....because they actually made it and you didnt/havent made it yet..

Thats all..

DK
 
Sep 1, 2007
122
0
Hong Kong
fercloseupartist, you're just another immature kid being jealous of Criss Angel.
Creating a topic is this doesn't help/improve the magic community at all.

As Michael Ammar says in his Introduction to Coin Magic video, we as fellow magicians should complement a magician before simply attacking him for no reason at all.

Criss Angel's magic is in a different genre than that of Lee Asher's and Aaron Fisher's unless you haven't noticed. So there's absolutely no point of comparing between them.

I know it's easy to just attack people based on the ways they do certain things. But it takes real courage and respect to appreciate others' hard work and effort.
 
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