50 Greatest Magic Tricks


50 Greatest Magic Tricks is a one-off list show that was produced by Objective Productions for Channel 4. The programme counted down the fifty greatest magic tricks, as voted for by members of The Magic Circle. The illusion at number one was Death Saw by David Copperfield. The show was presented by British comedy duo Adam and Joe, who also wrote and narrated the programme. The show was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 6 May 2002.
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Magic tricks

  1. David Copperfield – Death Saw
  2. David Blaine – Levitation
  3. The Pendragons – Metamorphosis
  4. Lance Burton – Doves
  5. Robert Harbin – Zig Zag Lady
  6. David Copperfield – Flying
  7. Tom Mullica – Smoking Trick
  8. Paul Daniels – Chop Cup
  9. Richard Ross – Linking Rings
  10. Hans & Helga Moretti – The Crossbow
  11. Penn & Teller – The Magic Bullet
  12. David Blaine – Card Revelation
  13. Harry Blackstone Jnr – Floating Lightbulb
  14. Lance Burton – Rollercoaster
  15. Simon Drake – Guillotine
  16. Siegfried & Roy – Vanishing & Appearing Elephant
  17. Amazing Orchante – Ball of String
  18. Robert Gallup – Death Dive
  19. Derren Brown – Blair Witch Illusion
  20. Ishamuddin Khan – Indian Rope Trick
  21. Simon Drake – Swords Illusion
  22. Siegfried & Roy – Interlude
  23. David Berglas – The Human Body
  24. Amazing Jonathan – Knife Illusion
  25. Paul Daniels – TV Camera Trick
  26. Derren Brown – The Art Gallery
  27. Paul Zenon – Tax Disc
  28. Tommy Cooper – Multiplying Bottles
  29. Amazing Jonathan – The Skewer
  30. David Berglas – The Table
  31. Great Soprendo – Torn and Restored Newspaper
  32. Paul Daniels – Electric Chair
  33. Penn & Teller – Snake Trick
  34. James Hydrick – Telephone Pages
  35. Robert Gallup – Straitjacket Escape
  36. Lance Burton – Osmosis Illusion
  37. Fay Presto – Bottle Trick
  38. Stevie Starr – Goldfish
  39. Spoon Bending
  40. Paul Zenon – Snooker Card Trick
  41. Melinda Saxe – The Drill of Death
  42. Derren Brown – Subway Hypnosis
  43. Meir Yedid – Fingertip Fantasies
  44. Penn & Teller – Truck Trick
  45. Mark Mottram – Thumb Tie
  46. Harry Blackstone Jnr – Vanishing Bird Cage
  47. Guy Hollingworth – The Reformation
  48. Shahid & Lisa Malik – Sword Box
  49. Juan Tamariz – 4 Blue Cards
  50. Franz Harary – Vanishing Space Shuttle

Reception

In a review of the programme, magician Ian Rowland praised the production of the show, saying that its content was "almost uniformly superb" and that it was a "golden credit to its makers". He was considerably more critical of Adam and Joe's presenting, calling the pair "dismal" and their contributions "an unmitigated disaster". Rowland also questioned the final list – he bemoaned the lack of close-up magic tricks in favour of large illusions on stage.

Legacy

The special was featured in a 2018 episode of the BBC One show Pointless Celebrities. One hundred members of the public had been given 100 seconds to name, from memory, as many magicians on the list as possible. The episode's finalists, Robert Lindsay and his daughter Sydney Stevenson, then had to name any magician who had not been listed by the 100 people. Paul Daniels, David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, David Blaine, Tommy Cooper, Derren Brown and The Great Soprendo were the only magicians to be named by the 100 people.