Dynamo is Dead

Join Harris, III (Harris "the third"), renowned magician and storyteller, as he explores the depths of deception we often mistake for truth, and discover an alternate life you may not currently be imagining.

In this brand new episode, master illusionist and showman Derren Brown plans to pull off the perfect crime. He’s bet renowned art collector Ivan Massow that he can steal a painting from right under his nose. In true Derren style, he will tell Ivan exactly which painting he plans to target – a work by Turner-nominated British brothers Jake and Dinos Chapman no less – as well as what time the theft will happen. He’ll even give him a photograph of the person that’s going to take it.

Long Tack Sam was an internationally renowned Chinese acrobat and magician. He overcame isolation, poverty, cultural and linguistic barriers, extreme racism and world wars to become one of the most successful vaudeville acts of his time. His showmanship was unrivalled, yet he refused to appear in movies because of the way Chinese were portrayed at the time. A celebration of the spirit of Long Tack Sam's magic and art, this richly textured first person road movie is an exhilarating testament to his legacy and a prismatic tour through the 20th Century. It all begins in a small village in China... https://www.nfb.ca/film/the_magical_life_of_long_tack_sam/

In addition to the insight provided by performers who knew Vernon, including Max Maven, Herb Zarrow, John Carney, Jackie Flosso, Ricky Jay, Steve Freeman and Persi Diaconis, it was an important opportunity for Vernon's children, Edward and Derek Verner, to share their own thoughts and feelings about their father, the magician. It also featured black-and-white silent footage of a younger Vernon demonstrating sleight-of-hand which we had converted and professionally retouched for the film. While the film was very well received, it was only available briefly for purchase as a VHS cassette, which was subsequently pirated. The film pops up regularly online, always low-quality copies of copies shared without any credit to those who made the project possible.

Featuring two-time world champion magician Shawn Farquhar, this documentary explores the unique relationship between the art of magic and playing cards.

Illusionist Derren Brown concocts a psychological experiment in which he tries to manipulate an ordinary person into taking a bullet for a stranger.

Anger discusses his Aleister Crowley-inspired theories of art: How he views his camera like a wand and how he casts his films, preferring to consider his actors, not human beings but as elemental spirits. In fact, he reveals that he goes so far as to use astrology when making these choices. This is as direct an explanation of Anger’s cinemagical modus operandi as I have ever heard him articulate anywhere. It’s a must see for anyone interested in his work and showcases the Magus of cinema at the very height of his artistic powers. Fascinating. (Dangerous Minds)

In his most revealing performance yet, the one-hour special features an exploration into Blaine’s trademark style of street magic as he once again stuns his audience.