Did anyone see David Blaines Vertigo last night? There I was looking forward to seeing David's magic, but what did I get? 1 hour of the most tedious, monotonous rubbish he has ever done, 1 hour of him walking stupidly round New York and 1 hour of New York's finest singing his praises!

O.K so it was impressive standing on a pole for some time but that's not what we want to see.

Does anyone here remember David saying to Leonardo di Caprio that it seems like everyone is trying to do the next biggest thing and how that sort of performance just wasn't for him?

Don't get me wrong David Blaine is a fantastic magician with some good card skills, but I think it is time to choose which path he is really taking, magician or public spectacle.

And for someone to say he will surpass Houdini! You decide.

Actually in recent interviews, David has stated that he has been yearning to get back to the tricks. He says that he just wanted to do one stunt, but then he felt he had to keep topping himself. He noticed this most in vertigo, where the stunt totally overshadowed the effects. So his next special should be more tricks and less stunt. He will still do a stunt, but the special will focus more on the tricks.

Have no fear, he has not completely lost it!

Nathan Pain

Watch him when he 's in the block of ice if you have nothing better to do. After two minutes of that you will find something to do. Then some people want to compare him to David Copperfield. I don't think so.

He lost it?

I'm not sure that he ever had it.

Tilt

I'm sure DB will surprise us...I'm also sure he hears such feedback...

Cheers,

Logan

Is it the fault of Blaine or the production company? Either way I have to agree with zmagicleez; the whole programe came across as a very pretentious exercise. Could easily have been a South Bank Show documentary. I also felt the two Healed and Sealed examples seemed a bit distant and not as impressive as they could have been. Then again, I probably need new glasses. Top moment for me was Hand Through Window. Neat.

What everyone doesn't understand is that David, much like anyone in the world has other interests. He loves art & literature, and movies. And some of those segments that seem pretentious to some of you, are actually odes to some of his favorite artists, and movies, and literature. Jeff McBride is another magician like this. What he does transcends just mere magic, and moves into the art arena. I think that is where we all strive to be elevated to someday. If you don't, stop now, and hang up your six card repeat, because magic definitely doesn't need you wasting it's time.

Nathan Pain

I can't believe that someone would put Jeff McBride and David Blaine on the same plain. Blaine was just in the right place at the right time. I don't think that his card skills are impressive at all and his presentation is even worse. I wish that some network would do a special on more magicians. Kind of like a WGM on the street or in restaurants. Or even better, World's Greatest Close Up Magic so that everybody who loves Blaine will have their heads spin.

I wasn't putting Blaine & McBride at the same level, or plane. I was just stating that in said special (Vertigo), some of the non magic parts were influenced by art & not magic, much like a lot of McBride's work. In fact I've played the McBride video I have for a lot of laymen, and they fall right asleep. The mixing of art into magic just bores some people to death & the others just misinterpret it. I, for one, appreciate the mixixng of personal tastes into magic. For instance Rudy Coby must be a huge James Bond fan, see how easy that was.

Nathan Pain

My worry is that David Blaine is trying to come over as a Christ-like figure, or at the very least, pretentious in the extreme.
Of course, one has to blame Bill Kalush who is putting all the efects, narrations, methods, etc in Blaine's head.
Having said that, Blaine is good for American audiences.

Say what you want about Blaine, but Bill Kalush?
Tilt

Tilt - you said it all. Wonder where Nobby is from....

Yes it does, and parts of Vertigo did. I was under the impression that magic was supposed to entertain not act as a substitute Nytol. What next? David Copperfield levitates on an unmade bed, or Lance Burton saws a formaldehyde cow in half. Now that's what I call pretention.

It sure is weird how Blaine aligns himself with some of the most respected people in magic, and people still slam him. I mean you are judged by the company you keep, ie Bill Kalush & Paul Harris. Not to mention, if you read the credits on his specials, there are a lot of big names there. I guess everyone just likes what they like. Opinions are like...and they all stink.

Nathan Pain

David Blaine has done his homework. He's realized what works and this has allowed him to continue doing more shows.

He isn't performing for magicians. He IS performing for the other 100 million + viewers in North America (and elsewhere) AND they love him!

I used to slander DB too, but I've since recanted after realizing these things and others.

It's easy to put someone down when they're in the spotlight... the media does it to actors on a daily basis. Being jealous is alright too. It's natural to wonder how things might have been if that was you and not him, but then someone would be saying your name and slandering you... just as many are doing to DB right now.

-Dave Cross

"The problem with being better than everyone else is that people tend to think you're pretentious."

It's sad to see so many magicians bashing one of the biggest names in Magic today. Pinky is right- Blaine's magic isn't for magicians, and neither is magic itself. It was started with the intention of entertaining and amazing people who do not know how the effects are done, or how they were performed.

In the eyes of the laypeople: If you can perform ten different effects using one method, you know ten tricks. If you can perform one effect using ten different methods, you know one trick. David Blaine is a household name, he enjoys what he does and lives his life at the same time. That is something truly magical.

Several magicians (both young and old) are in magic with the desire to perform and be "in the know" about how magic effects are done. But in the process they forget how to enjoy watching magic performed, even if they know the method to the effect. The last thing magic needs (other than a huge amount of exposure) is those who perform it tearing each other apart. I believe something my mother told me when I was very little applies here: "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all."

I really don't understand why a lot of magicians do nothing but insult Blaine. I for one have got a lot more work since he has been on T.V. When I met him I thanked him personally.

I think most of the magicians bashing him are hobby magicians who think they're as good as him (maybe they are) and feel jealous that it's not them with girls and money

Seriously, I have met Blaine and he is such a nice guy. My friend showed me some 'extra' footage on one of his tapes of David made up as an old magician 'Tarqua the Great' I think. It was the funniest thing I have seen for ages, and showed that if he wanted to he could do magic like everyone else. But he didn't and it made him...........

This whole David Blaine thing is so tedious now. I agree 100% with what IceRaven02 says, she's so spot on with her comments, as is Pinky.

David Blaine has done more for getting magic back in the public spotlight than anybody, yes anybody, since Houdini. That includes Vernon, Marlo, Jennings - anyone you care to mention. I know these are provocative words.
I also know that if it wasn't for any of these forrunners there'd be no David Blaine.

What I'm trying to say is that Blaine has got magic back on the map again. Love him or loathe him, that's a fact.

I live in UK, and he appeared a couple of weeks ago on a talk show with Jonathin Ross. Jonathin asked him to perform a trick and he simply stuck a needle completely through his hand. Pretty bad when he had no better to offer.

He mentioned his next stunt being something along the lines of jumping off London Bridge with lead boots, in shackles and everything.

Dave

Maybe Blaine hadn't had time to grab anything else before he went on the show, or maybe he just wanted to perform that particular effect. There could be a thousand reasons why he didn't perform 'Anything' better. If it impressed the talk show host, Jonathin Ross, then it was successful.

By the way: What's great in the eyes of the laypeople is almost never what's great in the eyes of most magicians. It's a lesson I've learned on this board and elsewhere.