Possibly the best illusion....EVER!‏ Saw a person in half, staple them back together.

I really enjoyed watching this illusion. I don't know if it's the best ever, as the title suggests, but it's pretty darn good (I copied the first part of the title from youtube).

Possibly the best illusion....EVER!‏


It's a saw the person in half illusion, and I've seen lots of those in my day, but usually the person being sawed in half scrunches their legs up in a hidden compartment so you can't see them and that's how the trick is done.

This illusion isn't like that at all, it's much more impressive. You just have to see it to believe it, and then you still probably won't believe it.

Regarding the staples he uses to re-attach the two halves of the person back together, where can I get some staples like that? Sawing a person in half doesn't look too hard, it's putting them back together that's the tricky part. Those must be magic staples

Oh and in case you're sqeamish, that's a rubber chainsaw he's using...so he didn't really saw anybody in half, but the illusion is so real other than that, I just wanted to reassure you.

Have you ever seen anything like this before? I don't recognize the show this is from, but David Hasselhoff appears to be a judge or something. Anyone recognize it?

I'm guessing those are really robotic legs?? And the guy probably is handicapped to begin with? Cause then it's not so impressive.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


The magician is Kevin James and he performed that on America's Got Talent. Made it through to the semi-finals!

Amazing stuff right there

I saw something like this performed years ago almost exactly the same way, I wish I could remember who it was..

Kevin didn't invent this illusion .. but yes, in the version I saw it turned out that the person was handicapped and actually would get from place to place on a board with wheels, using his hands..

Looks impressive, but it's pretty simple if you can find a guy with that unfortunate disability.

Edit:

The jumping around bit at the end is impressive though =)

Apparently Criss Angel does this trick as well .. but the legs aren't mechanical .. Criss uses a contortionist for the legs ..

reply to post by Arbitrageur


The best thing I can come up with is that black guy lost his legs in some accident, and the legs that they put him on are robotic. He has them so that he can walk around and stuff, and his upper torso fits right onto them. Cause when you see the first couple of seconds, see how stiff and unhuman the guys legs look?

One variant presents the front of the box to the audience (A). Expecting the box is the size of an ordinary chest, they may assume that the "victim" is arranged (B), crossing the path of the saw. In reality, the box may be deeper (which the audience cannot see from their perspective), and the "victim" curled up to clear the blade (C).

Another variant has a false table on which the box rests. This allows the carved out table to be used as a place for the woman to crawl up in and avoid the saw. Her feet are replaced with fakes that are moved with electric motors. These motors have the ability to move the feet, but only slightly, as no technology exists to make realistic-looking feet of flesh or the ability to move the toes of the feet;[dubious – discuss] this means that all fake feet must be wearing shoes during the performance. This method is generally not in use today, as the false table must be extremely thick to conceal the assistant.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

Interesting still

reply to post by miniatus


the womman is rose siggins once you know that the fakery is blisteringly obvious

reply to post by LonelyGuy

And which of those methods do you think is used for the illusion in the OP?

I don't think it's either one, as I said in the OP. This isn't the normal trick.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
the womman is rose siggins once you know that the fakery is blisteringly obvious

I gathered that from reading the comments on the youtube video.

But before you know that, it's not so obvious. I also wondered if that's the reason she wore a mask, to hide her identity?

reply to post by Fazza!

Thanks for identifying the name of the show!

I think they mentioned the performer's name at the beginning of the video.

reply to post by Arbitrageur


based on the movements - i am wondering if the entire thing is puppetry / animatronics ?

watch just how limited the range of movements are

is there any footage of the set-up & stage-clearing for this act ?

Originally posted by EmperorXyn
I'm guessing those are really robotic legs?? And the guy probably is handicapped to begin with? Cause then it's not so impressive.

You're not impressed that she can jump up and down, dance around, and walk off the stage like that on robotic legs?

I'm impressed, because it certainly gives me the illusion they are real legs.

Originally posted by miniatus
The jumping around bit at the end is impressive though =)

Indeed it is!

Originally posted by TupacShakur
Cause when you see the first couple of seconds, see how stiff and unhuman the guys legs look?

I don't know, I was too preoccupied with how she was jumping up and dancing around, that looked pretty human to me. I thought a little stiffness after you just got two halves of your body stapled back together was part of the illusion.

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
based on the movements - i am wondering if the entire thing is puppetry / animatronics ?

Perhaps the most sophisticated set of robotic legs I've seen, plus a performer who can maintain her balance while using them to jump up and down and dance around? Even if that's the trick, I still find it pretty impressive.

I was actually impressed at how NOT limited the leg movements seemed to be. She didn't just walk off the stage. She jumped up and down, and danced around a little, before walking off. That's pretty cool!

And which of those methods do you think is used for the illusion in the OP?

The paraplegic, obviously.

Convincing trick, until you consider how it must have been done, then loses the magic fast. Still though, it's all in how well the trick is executed.