There are many films about illusionists and conjurers, but rare ones are remembered for years. The thing is that it is not easy to show a truly impressive illusion in the cinema, the viewer must believe in a genuine miracle where every second is a miracle. And yet, several noticeable tricks on the screen managed to be realized.
We offer to recall the most memorable screen tricks.
Illusion of deception - 2
Those who watched the film will surely remember the moment when Atlas stopped the rain in the square, surrounded by a crowd of spectators, and then made it go the other way around. It looks so impressive that doubt creeps in: is it a special effect. But no. At the beginning of the film, in a magical shop, the riders pay attention to a small device in which the drops move in the opposite direction, like the rain at the end of the film, this is the key.
Stroboscope - that's the main thing actor in this focus. This is a device that allows you to quickly reproduce repetitive bright light pulses. To roughly understand how it works, remember any night club and flashing bright White light, thanks to which it seems that you are moving in jerks, like a robot, this is what a stroboscope and a stroboscopic effect are, i.e. visual illusion.
For those who find it difficult to understand what it is about, this video the blogger talks about this trick in detail and even repeats it.
Illusion of deception 
And again, Daniel Atlas, the hero of Jesse Eisenberg, surprises already in the first minutes of the film, plus he makes you part of his card trick as well. Admit it, you also made a seven of diamonds, right? The secret is that when flipping through a deck of cards, he lingers on this particular card twice for microseconds.
The mere human eye can't see it, but if you look video in slow motion, you will understand what we mean.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone 
Not the most successful, but quite a fun comedy "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone." Alas, impressive cast, which included Steve Carell, Jim Carrey and Steve Buscemi, did not save the picture from a box office failure, but this tape will not be erased from your memory just like that. If only because some tricks from it penetrate the very brain with a drill.
Not very smart, but fun and a little scary - Jim Carrey drilling himself temple.
Prestige
The clash between Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale gives the audience a lot of impressive scenes that excite the imagination, and the explanation of the tricks is crazy. How do you, for example, move the character of Hugh Jackman between two doors with fantastic speed?
The secret of this magical teleportation is simple and, of course, like all the tricks in this film, is explained to the viewer, but he focus looks elegant and really spectacular.
Illusionist 
Neil Berger's painting "The Illusionist" is only hiding behind a sonorous name - in fact, in the picture where more drama and romance than tricks and mystical transformations. And yet, the picture could not do without demonstrating the skills of the mysterious Mr. Eisenheim.
An impressive scene with an orange seed growing into a full-fledged bush, bearing fruit, does not leave indifferent the demanding audience. We, too, are ready to applaud the hero of Edward Norton, especially in light of the fact that this trick was actually demonstrated to the public in the 19th century by Robert-Houdin.
Secret
The trick lies in the pot itself and a special mechanism.
The Dark Knight villain, the Joker, pulls off a very effective but deadly "Disappearing Pencil" trick. True, we do not wish anyone to be his assistant in the performance of this trick - the Joker has some kind of disposable assistants. Although
As children, we did not think about how circus tricks We just believed in them. Surprising an adult is much more difficult, here it is not enough just to get a rabbit out of a hat. Illusionists such as David Copperfield and David Blaine work in this field - and then we see levitation, the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty and other impressive tricks. Sometimes magicians reveal their secrets - and it turns out that every trick has a perfectly reasonable explanation.
1. Classic of the genre: sawing a woman in half
The assistant climbs into a long, coffin-like box. Then the magician announces that now he will saw this lady in half right in the box - and he successfully does this without any harm to her health! There are several ways to perform this trick. Classic way, described in 1923, is shown in the picture below.
The box actually contains a secret, it is enough for the assistant to tighten her legs. And in the role of cut off legs are fake ones (they were controlled using a special mechanism to imitate movement). Therefore, they must have shoes on in order to close them to the maximum.
And this is a more modern way, when not one assistant takes part in the focus, but two. Just one is hidden in advance in a box. After “sawing”, one smiles, and the second moves her legs.
2. Levitation
The trick begins with the assistant lying down on the table in front of the magician. The crowd gasps in surprise as the magician suddenly clears the table and the woman continues to float in the air.
The assistant who assists in this trick is usually dressed in a long, flowing dress, with which the magician hides the real magic: a mechanical "levitation" device that is attached to the magician and with which he holds the assistant. And here sleight of hand comes into play: in order to divert the attention of the viewer, the magician takes out a hoop and begins to hold it, showing that supposedly nothing is attached to the woman’s body.
3. Levitation of street “fakirs”
It would seem that if he actually levitates, why would he need a staff?
And this staff is the whole point: it is a very strong structure that holds a secret platform on which a person sits.
4. Michael Jackson tilt
Remember this unreal slope under acute angle at 45 degrees, which did Michael Jackson and his dancers? They wore special shoes with a specially shaped heel: at the right moment, pegs appeared on the surface of the stage, for which the heel caught.
Here you can see how it works
5. The most famous magic trick of all time: pulling a rabbit out of a hat
A rabbit can hardly be hidden in a hat, but where does it come from then? There must be a simple explanation.
Well, there are three ways to hide a rabbit:
1) In a secret hole in the table. When the magician puts down the hat, he aligns it with the secret door.
2) He really is wearing a hat! But the hat has an ingenious flip-up flap.
6. Zigzag girl To perform this trick, first of all, you need a skilled assistant, because her task is to properly position yourself in a cramped closet. It is necessary to position yourself in such a way that the face, hand and foot keep their natural position straight. standing man, and the audience did not suspect anything.
7. David Copperfield's trick with the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty
In 1983, David Copperfield convinced a crowd of spectators for a few minutes that the Statue of Liberty had disappeared. He did this trick once and never did it again.
The disappearance of the Statue of Liberty
There are two towers in front of the Statue of Liberty. Against the background of the night sky, a brightly lit Statue is visible, a mark from it is visible on the radar. The cover rises on the towers, David closes the radar, the cover falls - the statue has disappeared, only the ring of lights around it is visible. The radar marker also disappears. The veil rises and falls again - the statue appeared as if nothing had happened.
There are several conjectures about how this was done.
a) Turntable
The spectators did not notice this, but their visual seats were located on a giant rotating platform. After looking at the statue at the very beginning, they were slowly turned to the point where it was no longer visible. How did they not notice the rotation? Everything happened at night, the statue is on the island, there are no identification marks there.
b) Light curtain
At the appointed moment, the autonomous lighting of the statue turned off. Only 2 spotlights remained on the island, crossing behind the towers, and spotlights on the towers, blinding the audience and not allowing them to see anything in detail. In fact, the spotlights did not illuminate the statue, but were directed upwards and away from it.
c) Staging
That is, simply a deception, a hoax, and hired actors as spectators. Skeptics usually lean towards this view.
Street magic is one of the most ancient types in the art of tricks. Its history is rooted in the depths of centuries, when itinerant artists gave performances in the squares of cities and villages, earning their living. Now that a whole industry of tricks has appeared, this art has not only not disappeared, but has gained a new life.
A serious difference between street tricks and stage performances is the almost complete absence of special equipment. As a rule, for most of these tricks, the dexterity of the trained hands of a magician and simple devices that can be easily hidden in your pocket are enough. Nevertheless, many of the tricks demonstrated by illusionists to passers-by amaze the imagination even more than the colorful staged tricks of professional magicians. Big role also plays the fact that the magician works his miracles at a distance outstretched hand from the amazed viewer, continually involving him in a dialogue, offering to take part in the action or "help" in the implementation of the trick.
Teleporting a phone into a bottle
Can you put your phone in a regular soda bottle? “No,” everyone will tell you. And it will be wrong. You can impress your friends and passers-by on the street by casually pushing the device through the plastic with a casual hand movement.
For this you will need:
- Plastic bottle;
- stationery knife;
- Finger pad with invisible blade.
Since teleportation, indeed, is still the lot of science fiction, you can’t do without a sharp fingertip. It can be purchased in specialized stores or, by connecting the imagination, make it yourself. The bottle can be anything, but stop at a container of one and a half or two liters, with a narrow neck: this is more spectacular.
It is important! For the performance to be successful, you must stand in front of your audience in such a way that none of them can see the side of the bottle facing you.
Let the audience know exactly what you want to do and let them carefully check the bottle. She, of course, is completely intact, which will convince the public that there is no catch. Now you need a second to turn a whole bottle into a prop that you can easily put your phone in. To do this, the easiest way is to ask for a mobile phone from someone in the crowd. This will turn everyone's attention to him for a moment, and while he is rummaging through his pockets, you can quickly run the fingertip blade along the side of the bottle, cutting a wide gap in it.
How to do it correctly is described in detail in this video:
After that, you can easily, taking on a mysterious look, push the phone inside. This trick invariably amazes and delights the audience. And all that remains for you is to cover up the traces of your cunning: take a pre-prepared clerical knife and, pretending to cut the bottle, swipe through the gap already made. The owner of the phone will get back his expensive property, and you will win the glory of a miracle worker.
Restoring a can of cola
Many things in modern world so indisputable that people, faced with them, do not even think about the possibility of changing them. It is on this confidence of people that the focus with the restoration of the can of cola is based. 
The illusionist shows his audience an empty crumpled can of cola. Absolutely useless item, according to most people. But the magician has a different opinion on this matter. He states that he can restore the jar and return the drunk drink to it. In obedience to a slight shaking, the jar begins to straighten up right before the eyes of the astonished audience, and everyone clearly hears the gurgling of the liquid that has suddenly appeared in it. Finally, the magician forcefully runs his fingers over the lid, sealing the jar. Now everyone can not only examine the jar, but also, having opened it, pour themselves a delicious drink.
This trick invariably strikes the amazement of the audience and, at the same time, is very simple to perform. Like any street trick, it does not require an assistant or sophisticated equipment. In order to repeat it, you will need:
- Unopened can of cola;
- scissors;
- push pin or needle;
- black marker;
- piece of white paper.
If you wish, you can replace the marker with ordinary black paper, this will not affect the success of the focus.
Everyone knows that it is impossible to crush a full and packed can of cola, because the drink is under great pressure. Therefore, in order to create the illusion of an empty crumpled can, a small hole must be made in the tin.
It is important! Keep in mind that you should be able to pinch the hole at any time, so it's best to make it at the top of the jar, where the index or middle finger is when taken with ease.
It is most convenient to cook everything for a trick near the sink or lawn, where you can drain excess liquid. When the pressure decreases, gently crush the jar on both sides. After that, no more than 2/3 of the liquid will remain in it, but this is quite enough for a successful trick.
Now cut out a small oval from black or marker-dyed paper, equal in shape to the sealed lid of the jar, and slip it at one end under the latch. Your props are ready. The black paper will give the full impression of a hole, and the crumpled shape of the can will convince everyone that it is indeed empty.
After that, you can start focusing. The only thing that needs to be done in order for the can of cola to miraculously get a second life is to pinch the hole with your finger and start shaking it, thereby causing a rapid release of gas from the drink. In less than half a minute, the increased pressure will even out the tin walls, and you will only have to pretend to seal the cap, quietly remove the paper "hole" and show everyone a whole and, undoubtedly, a full package of cola.
You can watch a detailed tutorial on this trick in this video:
An integral part of street magic is tricks with money. You can choose from simple tricks with banknotes, based only on sleight of hand, or stop at a more spectacular, but requiring special props trick with a bitten off a coin. 
The statement of a street trickster that he will "eat" a piece of a five-ruble coin, after which he will restore it again, causes laughter and distrust. However, you can easily demonstrate this. To do this, you will have to purchase a special prop: a coin with a spring that easily breaks in half. This trick does not require much preparation, like almost all street tricks. You can see the tutorial for this trick in this video:
You can order this coin
Take the counterfeit coin by the edge so that the fracture line is horizontally above the fingers. Bring the coin to your mouth, pretending to bite off, and at the same moment bend the top back, pressing it with your finger to the second half. From a distance of a few steps it will be impossible to distinguish a folded coin from a bitten one.
Street tricks can be called universal due to the fact that any of them can be shown not only to passers-by, but also to friends at parties or home holidays, and even at big stage. The main thing that should not be forgotten when demonstrating such tricks is that the magician's charm and artistry in street performances plays a much greater role than is required for stage performances. Indeed, in this case, the illusionist does not have the opportunity to use either complex techniques or lighting tricks. All magic is created solely by the dexterity of his trained hands.
Since childhood, we have been attracted to the words "magic" and "magic". And we feel genuine delight when someone shows tricks, although we understand that magic tricks nothing but a representation that has nothing to do with reality. We present to your attention the stunning tricks of outstanding illusionists.
David Copperfield "Death Saw"
David lies face down on the table, the assistants chain his legs, torso and arms to the table, and close him in a box. A huge circular saw is installed above it, which starts working and slowly sinks down. David has exactly one minute to free himself and get out before the saw cuts him. He does not have time, he starts to fuss, the saw cuts him exactly in the middle. After a few seconds, he raises his head. A second later, two assistants push the halves of the table into different sides, on one lie the legs, and on the other - the torso. Both halves are brought to each other, a cry is heard from the hall: “move your legs!”. David looks at his legs and in a second they begin to move. After that, he starts the mechanism in the opposite direction, the saw starts to spin, the halves are connected, the box closes David and his legs. A second later, he rises unharmed.
Chris Angel "Walking on Water"
Criss Angel is an American illusionist, hypnotist, and musician. Recognized as the best magician in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011. Criss Angel is the darkest magician on this list, famous for his shows Crazy, Phenomenon. He is known for his dark magic. This illusion shows a pool with people to whom he shows that he can walk on water, perform his trick while they watch and swim around and under him. In 2006, his book was published, in which he reveals the secrets of his tricks. However, this book cannot be found on the shelves of bookstores, it can only be purchased on Chris's official website.
Paul Daniels "Cup"
Paul Daniels is a famous British magician and TV presenter. The audience loved the performances of Paul Daniels because they were dynamic and really exciting. With his quick hand movements, Paul could entertain the audience for such a long time that he was rightfully considered the best magician in his genre. The Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts in 1983 even awarded him the prestigious Magician of the Year award.
Lance Barton "Doves"
Lance Barton is a world class manipulator own theater illusions in Las Vegas. Participated in numerous television programs, spoke to Queen Elizabeth II and President Ronald Reagan. In August 1994, Barton signed a 13-year contract (the longest contract for a magician in Las Vegas history) with the Monte Carlo Resort. Especially for his performances, the Lance Barton Theater was built for 1274 seats, costing $ 27 million. The opening took place on June 21, 1996. According to USA Weekend magazine, over 13 years of operation, Barton's profit amounted to more than $110 million. The main illusion of the magician was that he, standing on the street in a tailcoat and top hat, took out pigeons, candles and canes right out of thin air. With this number, he won the FISM in 1982, thus becoming the youngest of all who won the prize of this competition.
Richard Ross "Connected Rings"
Richard Ross was a Dutch magician known for his sleight of hand. The "Connected Rings" stunt was performed in 1983. It was necessary to closely monitor the rings, as they incredibly approach and move away from each other.
Harry Blackstone Jr. "Floating Bulb"
Harry Blackstone Jr. (1934 - 1997) was an American magician. From the age of 6 months, Harry begins to take an active part in the performances of his father, and his father was Harry Blackstone Sr., who is called a legend, because it was he who raised the technique of illusions and magic to an unprecedented level, which were far ahead of his era. In the "Soaring Light Bulb" focus, the audience watches a light bulb without wires flying across the stage and the hall.
David Blaine "Anterior Teeth Extraction"
David Blaine is an American illusionist. Started doing street magic in 1997. His show on ABC immediately gained popularity. Since 1999, Blaine has periodically shown more grandiose "miracles", including: Freeze in Ice (2000); "Vertigo" - 35-hour "standing" on top of a 22-meter column (2002); 44 days of confinement without food in a box above the surface of the Thames. In the "Removal of the front teeth" trick, he, approaching from one person to another, took out a tooth from each person's mouth right in front of the camera. David Blaine is a graduate in street magic and magical performances.
David Copperfield "The Disappearance of the Statue of Liberty"
The disappearance of the Statue of Liberty trick was invented by famous magic trick designer Jim Steinmeyer. Performed once - by David Copperfield in 1983. There are two towers in front of the Statue of Liberty. Against the background of the night sky, a brightly lit Statue is visible, a mark from it is visible on the radar. The cover rises on the towers, David closes the radar, the cover falls - the statue has disappeared, only the ring of lights around it is visible. The radar marker also disappears. The veil rises and falls again - the statue appeared as if nothing had happened. Naturally, the image on the radar is an imitation (and the imitation is clumsy - the sweep outlines the grid lines, while the Statue is displayed regardless of the movement of the sweep; in addition, the side of the statue farthest from the radar cannot be displayed at all).
Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon "Metamorphoses"
The Metamorphosis trick, invented by illusionist John Nevil Maskelyne in the 19th century, has become legendary in the 20th century. To the best of their ability, all magicians tried to perform it, from Houdini to Mark Wilson, and each brought something new to the act. Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were especially distinguished in improving the Metamorphoses. They got their hands and other parts of their bodies into this trick so much that they pulled off the climax in a record-breaking two seconds. With these seconds, the Pendragons entered the 50th anniversary edition of the Guinness Book of Records. In 2006, Jonathan Pendragon fell on an arrow while rehearsing for a dangerous stunt. The arrow hit the liver, stomach and heart, but he survived. Their focus of metamorphosis is recognized as the most fast focus in history. The couple are known for their dangerous illusions.
Penn and Teller "Bullet Catching"
Perfection in the performance of the bullet trick was achieved by the American illusionists Penn and Teller, who not only asked someone from auditorium choose bullets, sign them with your initials and load the gun, but also simultaneously fired at each other. Following this, the magicians demonstrated cartridges "caught" and squeezed between their teeth and turned to the same spectators with a request to check the presence of previously made signatures. "Catching a bullet" obviously implies deception, since it is physically impossible to stop a cartridge flying out of a pistol with your teeth and stay alive. Illusionists use decoy spectators or, to divert the attention of the public, with the help of imperceptible manipulations, remove bullets from a loaded pistol before firing. However, even with a finely tuned scenario and well-coordinated work assistant and magician, this trick remains one of the most dangerous: more than 10 professional illusionists died while performing this particular number.
