I was a fan of Criss's until Mindfreak. I saw the NYC show and thought it was pretty good. I was a fan of Cirque until I saw it live. I fell asleep in KA 2 years ago. To be honest, this doesn't look like the piece of **** I thought it was, it looks worse.

CA is putting Magic back under the spot light. WHICH IS GOOD unlike the MM

Give the guy a break and let the show work, night after night and be improved!

Cirque will not let this show fail!

Out of curiosity I looked up the "Shining" re-cut on youtube and sure enough a bunch of others popped up. It does go to prove you that it's all in the editing that can make or break your project.

Steve

The million dollar question seems to be, what in the world did they spend $100 million dollars on? No doubt a big chunk of that went to wining and dining the newspaper reporters who printed news stories saying how great Believe is, as well as padding the pockets of a few Las Vegas headliners who proclaimed Believe to be a breakthrough in the world of magic and illusion... *yawn*

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/oct......believe/

When you fly plane loads of reporters from all over (and Cirque city - Montreal) the money goes.

We have a real "production" system here, makes money "vanish" better than some magicians!!!

LOL

Blair

After reading that last story, I find it very funny how all they ever mention is Criss's great dressing room and great big afterparty that must allow for one day after to recoup..... but yet nothing great about the magic itself! LOL

Read lance Burton, Copperfield, penn teller, etc... reviews and they are all about the entertainment and magic.... as they should be!

But then again when do we ever hear about britney spears great voice... mostly about her sexual attributes really.

Gosh, I remember the days you had to have talent to make it in the industry. Id give anything to see Copperfield step up and challenge criss to a live television magic competition. Rules being you must perform illusions already owned and used on television in the past... no going to hire someone to build new ideas just to make them look good. Stuff you they have proven and claimed to be their own presentation in past shows. Criss would be laughed off of the stage!

Guff,
that was awfull I would not like to pay to see that.
was it supposed to be magic or what?
it aint sexy or nice or appealing
just guff
regards

Like a magic off? In the words of Dr. Evil, "RIGHT. . .".

IMO, Britney doesn't really have a great voice, but she's still entertaining. She's hoping that if she blinds people with her other "gifts" they won't notice. Apparently it's working.

Criss hasn't had breast implants; he took the Giant Mutant Bunnies option instead.

Hey all,

I just got back from Las Vegas and saw "Believe" on Monday night. Thought everyone might be interested for a first hand review of the show from one of us.

First of all, before I start, let me say that I am not a Criss Angel "hater" or "slappie." So I'm going to try to post an objective review here.

Also, let me say I give Criss a lot of credit, first of all for the show, and second of all for trying to take magic in a new direction. When I first arrived in Las Vegas, I picked up one of the magazines with a cover article about him (being the new show, it's "hot" right now). He talks in it about wanting to take magic in a new direction with the show. Ok, enough set-up, here's the show review.

The theater is SPECTACULAR. While out there, I saw Lance and Zumanity among other shows, and the "Believe" theatre stands out, just amazing.

The music in the show is outstanding. I wish they had a CD that you could buy like with other Cirque shows, but the giftshop had no music CD to purchase.

The visual elements in the show are great. Cirque gets an "A" for what they brought to the table. Their use of video/screens in the show is great. There is no "backdrop" per se in the show. Instead, it's a huge screen, and during the show the "backdrop/screen' will change along with the scene in the show. For instance, in one point they are walking through a "forest" type thing, and on the backdrop leaves are falling and the trees are moving, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before.

Like many magicians, Criss begins the show with a video montage of illusions he's done. The "Mindfreak" music is playing, the lights are going off, videos playing, it's like a rock concert, and it gave me goosebumps. Very very good.

The last video on the screen is him floating over the Luxor light, and as the screen goes up, Criss is "floating" witha light on the ground. It looks like they are trying to recreate the Luxor light floating, but I'm not sure.

In the interest of time so this review is not too long, he then does a decent run-around into the audience, and then a prediction with an audience member. He then says he will re-create the "tesla-coil" from Mindfreak, he is "zapped" and this is where the Cirque part comes in, as Criss is now injured and the show goes into his mind. A lot of Cirque dancing ensues, and it's probably about 10-15 minutes before Criss is seen again on stage.

Now, the show really slows down and starts to drag on. In fact, there isn't a whole lot of magic in the rest of the show. He does do 3-4 great things after this, his strait-jacket was really good, and also a version of the "wall-walk" when he walks down the side of the building. In the show, he's walking down his wife's wedding dress. (Why is he getting married? I'm not quite sure)

I'll wrap up the review here, but if anyone has any more questions about the show leave a message here and I'll come back on and write some more, don't want to take up too much of your time. Let me tell you how the audience reacted at the end of the show.

First off, a group of 4 people in front of us got up halfway through the show and left. We thought they might be going to the bathroom and would be back. They never came back.

At the end of the show, when he leaves the "mind" part of the show and back to real, he says he is going to do one more illusion, but to give a big hand to the cast. At this point, while people are applauding for the dancers and clowns in the show, about 20% of the audience was heading to the exits. At this point, my girlfriend and I felt bad for Criss and the cast, because the show is still going on, but everyone could clearly see people heading to the exits in droves.

At the end of the show, it was the weirdest feeling ever in the theatre, almost a sense of relief that the show was over. It really did seem like pity applause as well.

In the bathroom afterwards, I did my business at the urinal, and then stood there for another few minutes as if I was still going, listening to people around me. One guy apologized to his friend, saying he should have taken him to one of the "good Cirque shows." Another guy said "he should have just done magic and ditched the story line bull sh**. On the way out of the theatre, people were telling others in line waiting for the next show to get their money back and not go in.

It was very, very strange. Each aspect of the show was really good, but when it all came together, the show was kind of boring. And that's consistent with what a lot of the newspaper reviews said. It's jut strange, because I still don't understand why the show was not more entertaining. I compared it to a "classic" play, like Long Days Journey Into Night. While it's a "classic", it not entertaining, and that's kind of how this show was. It just didn't come together, and it seems that instead of Criss and Cirque adding things to each other, it subtracted from what each brought.

Ok, that's enough of my rambling, but I'd be happy to answer any more questions you post about it here.

Hope this helps!

Jason

Jason,

Thanks for the first hand review! Nice to finally get some direct feedback from someone who actually took the time to go see it!

Are you able to recall a list of the actual magic you did see? Other than mentioning the strait jacket?

Someone else posted that he did an interlude, doves, and some of his other standard stuff.

Still trying to figure out why he has claimed for such a long time that he'll be showing some mind blowing illusions never seen anywhere else in the world.

AM

I also just got back from Vegas and had a chance to get some free tickets to several of the shows. One of the shows was Believe and was recommeded from many vegas people that the show is not worth a free ticket.

I ended up seeing

Lance Burton - worth every penny
Ka - One of the best Cirque shows out there. 5 moving stages was amazing. Sensor overload.
The Ultimate Variety Show - This had the best juggler I have ever seen. Plays the piano with juggling balls.
Mac King - You just cant leave vegas with out watching Mac. He is one funny guy.

This was my experience with the shows and all of them where awesome.

So I never went to Believe. Had the chance but if I was being told free tickets was not worth it. Then I will go to something that I would enjoy then. So I went to the Ultimate Variety Show. Excellent choice too.

Best,

Dear Mirror Images,

I'm surprised that you missed "Believe". It's not often that a magic show with that kind of budget opens in Vegas and you really should have taken the time to see it. You can learn a lot from any show (even a really terrible show) and sometimes it can even be entertaining for all the wrong reasons.

Best,
Russ

Russ,

Very true. I was on my honeymoon so I opted out and rather take my new wife to decent shows that we would both enjoy and not regret going to see. I recommend all the shows listed in my above post.

I just also want to clarify I enjoy several things that Criss does. Even if he was not in the show I would not go see a show that people say not to go and see. Also another Cirque show not see in Vegas is Love - the beatles Tribute. I have also heard bad things about that show. So it is not just Criss show that has had some bad rap it is also other Cirque shows.

Best,

Mirror Images,

I would have to disagree with your comment on "LOVE" I saw the show and it is amazing! If your a Beatles fan than it's a must see! Not a tribute show, but a entire Cirque show done to only Beatles music, that has been remastered and edited to an amazing sound. I also believe that the ticket sales for "LOVE" have been in the top 10 for Vegas since it opened. When I went it was the hardest show to get good seats for.

As for Believe, when I'm next in Vegas I plan on seeing it, there is no way I would miss out on what some are calling the $100 million mistake :S

Lucas

I guess I'm one of those "J" people, but I don't mean jealous.(lol) I don't care to much for Mr. Angel. I don't believe I respect him, nor do I believe I have to because someone says I should. I don't think he's done anything for magic quite frankly. David Blaine was first on the scene which created all the magic hype. Criss came along and capitialized on it. He also took it to another level that I disagree on. It took a long time for magicians to earn the trust of t.v viewers.

If you got your wish of having Mr. Copperfield and Mr.Angel perform a magic competition live on stage with illusions that they own, I don't think Mr. Angel would win. I don't think I need to explain that one. Criss Angel has created himself a great little cult following, and I have no personal quarrels about anyone being a fan, but I always fail to understand why those who like him so much can't stand to see him be criticized. It's really okay for people not to like him. And it's okay for them to have their reasons. Criss Angel plays a very good magician on t.v. On t.v he is able to utilize his creativity the most. If that means using computer enhancing, editing, and image generating to make it look like he's done something amazing for people watching at home, great. But, that stuff don't work to well live on stage.

Now, in fairness to the show, it's not supposed to be just about magic. Criss has mentioned many times that it was much more than just a magic show, hence the reason of little magic in the demo.

The poor reviews are mostly from those who expected to see a grand stage illusion show with Criss Angel. Talk about not being informed. However, with that said, my cousin caught the show and he said he loved it. It had a bit of everything. He also mentioned that Criss looked like a natural broadway performer. These are not my words, they are the words of my cousin Mike.

Cheers

Lucasw,

Again this is from everyone I talked to that has seen the show and they didn't care for the show. You have to be a Beatles Fan to enjoy it is what I was told. I will have to say they have the sweetest looking entrance into the theater out of all the Cirque shows. It was pretty awesome looking. I loved the floor that changed colors.

But what I was trying to say there are other Cirque shows that have had bad reviews as well. We just don't hear about them because we are focused on Magic on this board and we are looking at Criss. I believe Believe is the one that has the most. But again while you look at KA when that first came out the first 6 months it was a learning curve since it was the most advanced technical wise with everything that goes on in that show. So lets just give Believe some time and see where it goes.

Best,

Mirror Images,

I completely understand what you are saying. I myself am a Beatles fan, so maybe that's why I enjoyed the show so much, besides all the Beatles music it is staged nicely and the tech side is interesting like all Cirque shows. Although yes I would say its a show for Beatle fans, which there are lots to go around. lol

I also understand what you are saying about Believe, I hope things get turned around because although I'm not a fan of Criss anything big for magic is good for magic. Although sounds like this is just hurting him right now. We all learn as we go on and hopefully they will pull through.

Lucas

Oh by the way now you can say you heard at least one person that really enjoyed LOVE

Lucas you mean really LOVED LOVE LOL

Best,

I celebrate anyone's success who can excite a broad public audience about magic as we all benefit. I regret that from the video Believe is such an over production that its affect might be more disbelief than inspiration. Magic should be believable and the staging/choreography should enhance the experience, not detract from it. Obviously, many of you have far more expertise than I in this area. I hope that I am wrong and comment without having had the privilege of seeing the show first hand which I hope to do soon.

Dan.