Opinion: Is Criss Angel Underrated?
Friday June 9, 2006
Criss Angel continues to produce and present excellent magic on his weekly series on A&E, now in its second season. But why isn’t he better known among the lay public? And why is he not regularly discussed among most magicians? I think that Angel is out there innovating magic and presenting it in a way that is attracting new audiences. He deserves our respect and support.
Comments
I think that Criss, in order to make himself “marketable” to the general television audience, had to water down his persona to a damaging degree. Think back to his fantastic stage performances, involving heavy make-up, elaborate costumes, stunningly surreal sets, and a bizarre cast of archetypal figures straight out of a nightmare. There was Criss Angel’s true artistry in full flower. Of course, that sort of presentation isn’t going to be appealing to the masses (though I for one was certainly impressed!) To appeal to the masses, he had to tone everything down to a very large extent, compromising his style. While I certainly appreciate the exposure he is now able to give to magic, I can’t help but look back at his early innovations with tremendous nostalgia.
I haven’t been into magic for very long, but the small time I have been here, I’ve heard quite a lot about Criss Angel.
I knew who he was before I began to get into magic from his television show, but once I started doing my own, I heard more. On the website that I go to to find my magical supplies and tricks, people are constantly talking about Criss Angel. I would not say that he isn’t mentioned among magicians, but he may be underrated in the public eye.
Underrated? Quite frankly, I think our mascara-wearing, lisping little Jersey boy is highly OVERrated. In fact, I hear his name quite often from the lips of laymen. It’s often something along the lines of, “What do you think of that Criss Angel guy?” They apparently have been forced to reserve judgement. Let’s face it, his respectability is often being comprimised by the horrid presentation of his effects, the sneaking suspicion that everyone in his “live” audience is probably his cousin, or the fact that he has to take his shirt off to do a card trick. Most people I have talked to seem unimpressed, and I feel it is deservedly so. Sorry, Criss, I don’t really care to “enter your mind”, although I’m sure it’s quite roomy and spacious in there.
I think Criss Angel does deserve more acknowledgement.He is an AMAZING illusionist.I mean,the man has done stuff even Houdini could not do.Some other illusionists have got more attention than he has,and I for one would like to see them try half the things he does.But,anyway,ROCK ON CRISS!!!
If anything, Criss Angel is overrated, as indicated by his “Magician of the Year” award. Why is he not more known among laypeople? Probably because he is not all that interesting, and his “street magic” in the MindFreak series pales in comparison to the magicians he tries to emlate (e.g., Houdini) and the guy he keeps tying to “compete” with…Davi Blaine.
With two television specials and a series entering its second season, Criss Angel has failed to match the notoriety that David Blaine acheived with just one television special. The fault does not lie with laypeople; it lies with Angel.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-Angel and am not about to go around slaggin ghim out of jealousy or devoton to David Blaine ro anything lke that. In fact, I think Angel has done some incredible things…but not on the street. His true arena is the stage; that’s where he shines. His theatrical performances of magic are stunning. On the street, he’s just another guy in eye-shadow with a cmera crew following him around.
Geez…I typed that way too fast. I think myfingers were moving faster than my brain.
Regarding Angel doing things Houdini never could…um…what exactly? Perhaps he did some things that Houdini could not have done because they were technologically impossible at the time. That’s hardly a fair statement. Note, though, that I don’t think Houdini ever whined about the water being too cold for him to do his milk can escape…unlike Angel.
in my opinion criss angel is definitly overrated not because of his skills as a magician because i’m sure everyone will agree that he is a very talented magician, i just don’t like his performance style of being dead serious all the time. magic is basically to entertain people and i don’t find performers such as angel and blaine half as interesting to watch as people like jay sankey or greg wilson perform.
A previous comment opens the door for a conversation about stooges. Chris Angel obviously uses them.. laymen CANNOT miss this fact. Angels stooges need a few acting classes to say the least. My question.. to open a discussion.. is how far is too far when employing stooges in your effect. Having one stooge to assist in a mentalism effect is one thing. Chris Angel seems to use more STOOGES than SPECTATORS! Many of the effects Im under the impression that the ONLY people who are not stooges are the TV audience.
I dont know about you.. but Im pretty sure I could come up with some amazing stuff if my only spectator (and only angle to cover) was a television camera.
O.k. Mr. Angel was a heavy topic in a lecture and Master class that Jeff McBride held in NYC this week at Fantasma Toys.
The point of perseption that anyone takes in bearing witness to what this man producess is very personal as is with all expieriences in magic!
However let’s take into account the fact that he has become a T.V magician and with that we can not judge him based on the displays put together within a frame most people are forced to watch through.
Remembering what Mr. Angel does on stage and seeing that he is pushing the boundaries is great it makes us work hard to create better magic when we perform. Regardless if he is the spectacle magician or the kind of sorcerer who pulls his audience in and helps them feel connected to the magic, such as we discussed in the McBride Classes. ~ Who appeared on one of the Mindfreak latest episodes.
Criss Angel is AWESOME! He is number 1 He deserves alot more recognition. He is so very talented. I truly love the man.
Actually, Criss Angel is a far more impressive personality on tv (and face it, it is television we are discussing here) than David Blaine ever was, in my humble opinion. I never could get that guy and his mumbling monotone and lame “endurance tests.” Blaine seems so low key that maybe a heroin addict might be more energetic. At least Criss Angel is a little more personable on tv.
As far as the illusions go, I need less flashy hand held camera work and less quick cuts to be impressed with some of them, but I have to admit, many of his effects are stunning and flawless (and I don’t care how many stooges and shills he uses) I’ve been a shill for a great magician in the past and it is all part of “the act.”
In regard to the comment about Blaine receiving achieving more notoriety in one tv special than Angel with his series; could it be that when Blaine’s special aired that street magic was relatively new and therefore more exciting to the tv audience? Somethings are always more spectacular the first time you see it. I think more people would be talking about Angel today if his special came first. Just an opinion.
Criss Angel (and his production company!) makes fine illusions. I am not skilled enough to judge whether he is under- or overrated, but in my country, Denmark, no laymen knows him. Professionally though he is well known for his mindfreak series.
Comparing with David Blaine is not fair. DB started the whole street magic frenzy by being the “first international stret magician” and as in any other business, the first who is right, gain a market. We all judge from our own point of view and as practicing magicians we sometimes forget to enjoy the performance.
Besides; IF he is underrated – could it be that the production company simply does not market him enough?
My “gut” reactions to Criss Angel and MindFreak are based on first impressions as an older generation viewer.
It is difficult for me to get past his version of TV magic. There are too many outlandishly contrived illusions based on editing, counterfeits and so-called reality TV. Criss is striving for unimaginable magic, which to me comes off as “silly magic.” I feel bombarded with absurd scenarios that only apparently appeal to young, attractive females, whose vocabulary consists of,
” Oh –My—God!”
Criss has the input of some very highly skilled and talent magicians all of who lend their expertise to the final product. This has the effect, for me, of Criss not being an innovator of magic, but a borrower. Couple this with an apparently bottomless pocketbook for the construction of “one-off”, custom designed, big box hardware and my impression is altered still. Criss appears to me as a kid on Christmas morning ripping through his first magic set under the tutelage of Uncle Joe.
As stark as the above statements are, credit must be given to the fact that he has managed to achieve a level of publicity unattainable by 99.9 percent of the magic population.
Oh yes, I’m a bit weary at staring into his gapping mouth each episode.
As a lay person with some knowledge of sleight of hand and stage illusions, I give Criss credit for creating some wonderful “how the hell did he do that?” moments. I am not a big fan of the goth carnival environment that seems to be his arena, but I think also you have to give credit where it’s due. You may know how all of the illusions are done – that’s not the point. Of COURSE he was cabled when he levitated between buildings. Of COURSE David Copperfield did, too. BUT – the effect was entertaining and held my attention.
Criss Angle is not reconized as much as he should be because he wants it that way. In several shows from Mindfreak he tells the public that for much of his time as an illisonist he has tryed to stay away from magicians because hes wants to put a new spin on magic. Well if he spends to much time with them he will become them. As we all know being the first to do something is hard and you dont get as much reconishion for what you are doing. Criss Angel is a wanderful man and is great at what he does and we should all just step back let him do his thing and respect him for that. Plus he puts on one hell of a show.
well i saw david copperfield he was awesome. i think chris angel is awesome. point is they all do things of illusion not magic. its like wrestling at one time it was viewed as real its entertainment these guys are all good at what they do.as long as we remember magic just doesnt exsist