Hello:

I was wondering if anyone had ordered the Criss Angel magic set
and if they have what they think of the ultimte mindfreak magic set.

I ordered this magic set and was quite pleased.
I thought that Johnny Thompson did a great job helping Criss explain and teach some how to perform with some of the props in the magic set.
Although some dvds did not feature Criss teaching the tricks it was still good quality. I believe it would have been better if Criss had been teaching on a few of the dvds as it was only a magician and he never spoke and you never see his face.
other than taht the props were well made and the book was well illustrated and did a good job teaching the magic lessons to beginners.
As a magician and teacher of magic I believe this set was well put togother and you can tell that actual magicians created this set and it was not just some toy company selling plastic junk with hard to learn instructions.
I have seen many sets over the years that were cheap junk , so its nice to see someone who takes pride in a magic set they sell.
I do think however taht 69.95 is a bit steep even for a magic kit.
Its not that I do not think its a good magic set.
But I believe that it should be in the price range for every family for their children to learn magic.
So if the 29.95 magic set he sells is as good as the 69.95 version then Criss has done a great job of preserving the art of magic thru the next generation of master magicians

Does it come with editing and camera cutaway tips? Cause that's important in preserving the art of magic using the Criss Angel method

J

Yes it does John! But of course no genuine Chris Angel wannabe would be complete without paid actors. So, for a limited time it also comes with two.. That's right, TWO of your very own paid stooges!! These stooges are perfect for the Chris Angel style of magic and will give you plenty of oooooh's and aaaahh's and never tell anyone that they were in on your effects! These stooges are yours free with your purchase of the Chris Angel magic kit. (Some restrictions apply. Buyer pays shipping, salary, and cost of room and board.) Now you can be just like Chris Angel!! Stooges and all!!

Good one, I really like this! What would Criss Angel do without "Camera Trickery"
Rennie

Voldemort,
I also agree with your comments. I guess everyone sees through Criss Angel huh?
Rennie

Oh yeah... I suppose. I was just trying to make a joke out of it!! You know... Where would Angel be without TV and stooges. Probably working in a sticker factory somewhere.

Umm he got his own television show without stooges. The point of a television show is to make the best show possible. If using stooges makes for a better TV show I say do it.

Whoa there!!! Calm down just a little. It was a joke.

And no he didn't get his own show without using stooges. He got his own show by saying that he WOULD use stooges (And camera tricks). Same thing.

Oh and that "Better TV show" thing is debatable as well.

The Masked Magician reveals magic on a t.v show that was successful enough that Fox had several of them. He reveals magic tricks to make the best show possible. So if revealing magic makes for better t.v, then that's okay too?

The point of a television show maybe to make the best show possible, but it doesn't mean it's right, or good.

Just my opinion.

Well... You know after Angel started exposing effects on TV, (The effects that regular magicians would use in their acts not being privy to cameras and actors. Of course not the effects that he would perform or had performed). I decided that from then on, Whenever I would get asked the inevitable question "How does Chris Angel do such-and-such", That I was going to tell them exactly how he did it. Camera editing and paid actors, Which of course I couldn't be using, being as I'm right in front of them by myself. Payback's a be-otch

Now a couple of dudes get together and put a few effects in a box, (Nothing that Angel uses by the way) and slap his name on it giving Angel a percentage of the take. Good for them. Hopefully it will lead someone down the path to magic. But it still feels like name dropping to me. But of course that's always been done.

So you are saying that Criss Angel gives magic a good name by using camera tricks & stooges, Come on...And you even say "If using stooges makes for a better TV show I say do it." So you would rather watch Criss Angel than Fred Kaps?
You are totally out in left field on this one, sorry!
You did notice Criss Angels popularity is rapidly dropping?
Rennie

Yeah. That probably has a lot to do with the terrible show in Vegas. LOL

If it isn't edited, He can't pull it off.

Rennie, I'm not a huge fan of Criss Angel and I am not a fan of watching a longer than 10 minute performance of any magician. I love to perform but like many magicians I am not a big fan of watching magic. Magic kinda has a bad name in the eye of the public and it was that way before Criss Angel. To answer your question about Kaps. As a magician I am going with Kaps all the way. As a layperson I would much rather watch Criss's show even with the stooges and edits. Audiences have changed a lot and even though I prefer the old school guys I have shown that stuff to laypeople and they don't really like it compared to Blaine and Angel.

Sooo... The camera edited hype machine has put people off real world, classic magic? Is that what your saying Ted? Because that sounds about right to me and its one of the reasons I can't stand Angel and his green screens. People watch his crap and then expect the same out of any magician that they see.

I have read this thread when it was just made. I was also about to comment a smart remark regarding camera editing. However, that just seemed too immature because the original poster was asking about Criss Angel's magic set. Not Criss Angel himself. Although I do agree with most people here, this isn't a place to discuss Criss Angel himself. I think it's best if the arguments regarding Criss Angel should be left out and just comment on what the original poster asked for.

Yeah it kind of got off topic.

But at the same time this product has Chris Angel's name on it. Who Chris Angel is, is the reason that his name was placed on the product in the first place. So I really don't see any problem discussing just that... Who he is.

Back for a second to the off-topic discussion. Several here think the point of a television show is to make the best show possible. Wrong. The point of a televison show is to sell advertising. Doesn't matter how good a show is, just how many people watch. That's why we get shows like *Jackass, Jerry Springer, TMZ, Wrestling, etc.

I'll be objective, the magic kit set is one of the best on the market. the gimmick are well made, the DVD and books are good also for beginner.
It's good for beginner who wants to learn magic, this one is like a starter kit....

What are included in the kit?

Here is a link to another thread about the same thing. It has reviews of the kit, and talks about what's in it. 5 pages to read.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=109

Mark Reed, a dealer bought the kit to give his honest and unbiased review of it.