The Genii Forum

This news was shared recently at Duncan Trillo's fine weekly UK news blog, http://www.magicweek.co.uk.

I haven't seen this posted here yet, so I'll give it a shot: There's a one hour documentary on YouTube now on the legendary Berglas Effect, including quite a few different performances by the master himself. Certainly worth watching!

You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UqnSmzV-5w

I have never figured out why there is so much fuss about this trick. It is a good trick but there are many, many good tricks which don't get the same attention. To a layman this trick would get no better reaction than any other good trick. In fact the way it is usually presented it would probably get less. Performers without the charisma of David Berglas tend to get very long winded with it and by the end of the trick the audience is half asleep.

I think all these restrictions and conditions of the trick are what is known as "conjuring for conjurers". Laymen may tend not to know how it is done but also not care how it is done either. They just want to get the damn thing over with.

I have two methods of my own conception which probably take two minutes at the most and will get twice the reaction than the usual long winded methods because all those silly "conditions" are done away with.

Not that I am of a cynical frame of mind of course...............