Top 5 Favorite Magic Tricks in Film

Movie MagicLists by Joey Paur


I love the art of magic. I've always been fascinated by the kinds of things that magicians can pull off. I know they are all performed with slight of hand and illusions, but many of the tricks I've seen pulled off in my life have blown my mind. I really do enjoy the feeling of having my mind blown, and magic does it to me a lot. When I was a kid I got a big magic kit and book for Christmas one year. I loved that thing, but unfortunately I was not born to be a magician. 

I've gone to several magic shows over the years. Seeing these tricks pulled off live, up close and personal is so amazing. While I was driving through Las Vegas recently I began to reminisce about all the magic shows that I've gone to there. That sparked the idea for me to write an article about what my favorite magic tricks in movies are.

It's always cool to see magic implemented into a films story, and I put together a list of five of them. Some of these movies focus on magic, while others just throw in a little trick for entertainment. I tried to think outside of the box when coming up with some of my choices, so a couple wouldn't be traditional style magic tricks.

So here they are in no particular order. Look over the list, and then let me know what your favorite movie magic tricks are!

The Brothers Bloom 

What impresses me most about this scene is that this card trick was flawlessly performed by Rachel Weisz while telling her story without breaking character. It would have to take a hell of a lot of concentration to pull that off.  It took the actress a month to learn the trick, and practiced every day. They shot 11 takes to get the the scene perfect.

Watch a new clip from the globe-trotting con men comedy, THE BROTHERS BLOOM. Directed by Rian Johnson (Brick) THE BROTHERS BLOOM stars Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo and Rinko Kikuchi. The film opens in NY/LA on May 15 and nationwide on May 29.

The Dark Knight

I'll never forget the audiences reaction in the theater When the Joker performed his deadly disappearing pencil trick. I know it's not really a "magic trick," but he did make the pencil disappear… into a thugs head. The way the scene all came together and played out in the movie was brilliant, and everyone loved it.

All copyrights and material in this video belong to Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures. I do not claim anything in this video to mine, and simply have it up here because people love The Joker. Check out my channel if you like hedgehogs or have questions about them.

The Prestige

This is the only movie that we'll ever see where Batman goes up against Wolverine. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play dueling magicians whose rivalry is taken to a new level when one of them performs the ultimate teleportation illusion. This is easily my favorite movies where magic is the a main centerpiece of the story. The main trick in the film is called "The Transported Man," and you can watch Jackman and Bale perform it in the clips below.

The scene from The Prestige where Angier performs the New Transporting Man

Disclaimer* I own nothing. For entertainment purposes only.

The illusionist 

This wonderfully entertaining magical love story includes a great sequence of magic tricks that culminates into Norton's character making an orange tree grow in a matter of seconds before the audiences eyes. This was a real magic trick made famous by a 19th Century French magician named Robert-Houdin. Norton was trained by British magician James Freedman and American magician Ricky Jay so that he could do his own magic tricks in the film. This way the filmmakers wouldn't have to use CGI to fake the illusions. 

Eisenheim The Illusionist - He slows down a orange falling, makes a handkerchief disappear, makes butterfly do whats he wants, and makes an orange tree grow in a matter of seconds. "Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

The Usual Suspects 

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist."

This may not be a traditional magic trick, but it was an amazing trick and illusion none-the-less. Kevin Spacey's character, Roger "Verbal" Kint, pulled off the greatest trick ever, and the big reveal at the end of the movie blew audiences away. This whole movie is literally one big illusion revolving around Keyser Söze. I remember seeing this movie for the first time, and I had no idea what was coming. 

In the final sequence of the movie, we find out that the whole story that Kint had told was all made up from little details pulled from a crowded bulletin board in the messy office of the police detective conducting the interrogation. Brilliant.

From "The Usual Suspects"

Probably the most shocking ending ever. If not, certainly one of them.The scene wich made Keyser Soze the best villain of the 90's. Enjoy HD video.

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