David Blaine, the "street magician". Is he for real?

[najar]

Being from NY i had a chance to see if he was real or fake. but i didin't. My intuition tells me he is mostly fake, the mysterious guy overly hyped by the ABC network to bring good ratings. I was wondering if anyone has actually seen him close-up doing all those tricks.

 

[Wipeout667]

Far be it for me to criticize as I pretty much suck at up close magic, but from what I saw he's actually only a very average performer. Obviously ABC can edit the hell out of the tape so all of the blown takes can go right out the window. Most of his stuff is very prop based or uses very obvious misdirection.

Penn Gilette (Penn & Teller) has publicly denounced the "frozen in time" stunt as his technicians actually built the thing. He's basically surrounded by a pocket of air that, while uncomfortable, isn't the frozen tomb that we're led to believe. The trick is really just being able to stand there for 2 1/2 days.

 

[AndrewR]

While it's not quite as exciting when you look at it (I originally thought he was going to be completely frozen, as in cryogenically preserved and then revived, ah well -- not that interesting ), it's still pretty amazing. "Magic" is all about misdirection and deception, but this stunt actually has a fair amount of amazing physical endurance involved.

Have you ever tried to stand for 2 1/2 days straight? Scarce few people could do that alone. How about while surrounded by ice and not being able to move at all?

I would like to see him in person.

 

[prodigy]

He's going out with Josie Maran, so he's cool in my book.

 

[nd]

What do you mean by "Is he for real"? Yes, he does real magic tricks. No, you probably don't know how he does them, and no, they're not real. I know for a fact some of his were camera tricks.

 

[dc]

of course he's for real. he does magic tricks, which makes him a magician!

 

[GoldenBear]

<< I know for a fact some of his were camera tricks. >>

Other than the levitation one he did on the ABC special, EVERYTHING else would be the same from what you see on TV than what he'd do in real life.

 

[nd]

GoldenBear,

And you know this how?

 

[konichiwa]

GoldenBear

That's partially true...a lot of his stuff he positions people (and cameras) in just the right places. All of his stuff, just like all other magicians' stuff, is gimmicks.

 

[shopbruin]

i heard the levitation trick that he did was actually a plastic sole that no one could tell the difference.

 

[fake]

Yes he really floats and reads people's minds .. just like a magician.

 

[GoldenBear]

<< And you know this how? >>

FOX I believe had an episode of &quot;Street magic revealed&quot;, which basically revealed most of the tricks Blaine did on his own special. This proves they are doable and just require some quick hands and lots of creativity.

 

[konichiwa]

GoldenBear

And you believe THAT???