Original subtitles

Warning, what you're about to witness can be dangerous.

Attempting it can result in death.

Don't try this at home.

On this episode of Believe.

It's driving me crazy. I want to know how you did it.

I've been inspired by the movie Lord of Illusions.

I want those swords to fall inches away from me. Sounds to me a lot like Russian

roulette. I'd be applied to the ultimate table of death.

There are almost too many variables.

Pull it.

I'm done. I'm done.

If I'm successful, I will reveal my prediction.

And if I'm not, things went horribly wrong.

Take your hand off five.

Chris Angel, believe.

What don't you like?

TV,

is that okay?

Check it out.

What I want you to do is I want you to think of

Something that you're fearful of. Something that you don't like.

Imagine that right now, okay?

Easy. You got it? Yep. Okay, good.

Mice. Mice.

I'm a little off.

I'm a little off because I got a mouth.

Write down something that you don't like. Something that, you know...

that you're fearful of, you know, that makes you nervous, that bugs you.

You know what I mean?

Write something down. Go ahead.

Write it down.

Write it down.

I want you to see there's nothing in the bag whatsoever.

Completely empty.

Write it down. Write it down. Good.

Good. I want you to pull that up. And I want you just to drop it right here.

Just drop it right into the bag. Right over there. Just drop it into your bag.

Let go of it. Let go of it. What did you write down?

Crickets. Crickets.

Crickets.

What the f***?

You should have wrote down money.

Hey, Chris. Horror films are a great example of how images can affect your

and tap your greatest fears.

Clive Barker directed Hellraiser and Lord of Illusions. And I just had a

conversation with Clive that challenged me to attempt a death -defying test of

my own ability to make the ultimate prediction.

Check this out.

I'll just let it speak for itself.

Lord of Illusions is a fantastic meditation.

on magic.

Nowhere in my wildest dreams that one day there would be a body demonstration

that took this whole idea of magic into the real world.

It just didn't occur to me that anybody would ever be able to do that.

Well, there is somebody. There's Chris Angel. He's our Lord of Illusions.

Now, let me explain the genesis of where this is all coming from. Now,

when the movie came out, I saw one scene that just was this very strong,

powerful tableau.

Swords hanging and essentially this round pentagram.

And it was the magician, the main character, laying on it. And these

falling, actually penetrating his

body, impaling him right into his shoulder. It was crazy.

But I talked to Clive about this, and he's never given permission to bring any

of his things to life. And he said, Chris, I'd love to see you do it.

I figured let's go to a place that would have, you know, literally thousands of

people outside.

that would be able to view this at any angle. They would be able to shoot it on

their phones. Are we talking about an arena, a public square, a desert?

What are we looking at here? I'm looking at anything that can hold lots of

people that want to come and do this completely for real.

How can I take this and maybe create a scenario that I'm avoiding getting hit

with the swords?

It's a prediction.

If I am wrong, There will be a sword that will literally impel me.

What are you predicting? And how are you predicting? I'm predicting the sequence

of the swords dropping.

You have basically the audience yell out the numbers.

You predicted what order they would say they're going to fall in. All right.

You've got that prediction.

If I have somebody yell out six numbers, I'll know the sequence of that. And

I'll know right away if I nailed it or not. Now, if I nailed it.

I'm golden, right?

Yeah, but what if your sequence of numbers is wrong? But then I influence.

Then I use the power of influence.

But then that's my out. But you're dealing with real people. No, but that

out. With a card trick, it's wrong, it's wrong. No big deal. With this, it's

wrong. You've got a sword going through your heart. Totally different. It's like

the ultimate table of death.

I'm thinking all the swords are razor sharp. And I want those swords to fall.

inches away from me. Depending on how high it is, we're going to get it to

hard and fast too.

I'm here to learn from Chris, but the one thing I'm learning right now is that

he may be in over his head on this one.

We got to take into consideration because it's outside, wind, right?

Okay, and what about safety?

We need a hospital close by.

No, you just get a paramedic. No, we need a surgeon on set.

I'm serious.

I'm going to make a prediction and then influence people to make sure my

prediction is correct.

Jesse's job is to do the research to be sure that we're duplicating exactly what

Clive did in Lord of Illusions. And John and Doug need to build the system and

keep me alive.

Alright guys, are we good? Great.

This demonstration features six suspended swords.

One death sword will be aimed at Chris's heart.

Random spectators will determine the order the swords will fall.

This will predict the order two days prior to the demonstration and must be

correct to avoid being impaled to the heart.

Category of magic, mentalism.

Can I see somebody? Yeah, definitely. We'll grab down for you.

This is nice.

We've been tracked as a crowd. Yeah.

You don't mind helping me, do you? No, not at all.

All of you have to make a deal with me right now, even though you don't know

You remain focused and keeping your sword rigid and straight.

Don't let go.

Deal? Deal.

Okay.

I need a girl.

Which one of you three want to help me?

Not me.

Hi, dear. You want to help me?

What's your name?

Tara. Tara?

Okay, you're going to come right over here, huh?

Come over here, all right?

And you're going to help me, dude. Come over here, man.

Put your hands out like this.

She might fall back to you. Can you catch her? Yeah. Can you do that? No

problem. Okay. Dog to spot.

Make sure as well. You're just going to relax, okay? If you don't fall back,

it's okay.

If you feel you want to fall back, you're safe.

This is all based in trust. Even though we're all strangers, we're going to

trust each other. Is that correct, everybody? Yes?

Yes.

Just completely relax. Forget about where you are. Just breathe in through

nose.

Now through your mouth.

It's completely relaxed itself.

It's relaxed itself.

It's completely relaxed itself.

Bring her up and bring her around.

Just like this. Guys, keep your swords. Everybody keep your swords nice and

rigid. Keep your swords.

Nice and rigid. Nice and rigid.

Nice and rigid.

Whoa.

Everybody hold.

Everybody hold.

Oh, gosh.

Whoa.

Relax yourself. Relax.

Just break down the order of illusions for me. He's going to predict the order

the swords are going to fall.

And he's going to have them tied in a very specific order.

He knows exactly in his mind which rope is going to be last. And that one is

going to be tied to the heart sword.

It's the popcorn girl.

Hi. Hey, Chris.

Nice to see you. Nice to see you. Kristen. Hi.

Kristen is an amazing magician.

I'm actually grooming her to join my live touring show, Whimsical.

One day, she'll get her own shot. But right now, as my apprentice, it's her

to watch and learn. Colonel, show us the goods. The colonels.

Yeah, I'm going to show you. They have the best colonels here. All right.

Look at it. Look at this.

It's just beautiful specimens right over here. Take a good look at that.

As a matter of fact.

I want an eight blast of that.

I don't have a stove.

Yeah, uh -huh. I don't have a stove. No, this is great because we're going to do

something for you. Okay. Watch.

Pick a kernel. You pick a kernel. You're the popcorn girl. Pick a kernel, any

kernel. Any kernel. Right there, watch.

I want you to see this.

This kernel is going up my nose. Oh, Chris.

Oh, yeah.

It may not have any flavor.

Kristen, that's really disgusting.

What are you doing?

Watch her.

Is she moving?

Oh.

Not.

That.

Oh, wow.

Got the table.

All right. This has the logo on it where the swords are going to be and the pins

that hold his body into place. Okay.

With Lord of Illusions, Chris plans to make a prediction so he's not stabbed

through the heart with a death sword.

My job is to make sure the swords are completely accurate when they fall.

The rig is a 16 -foot truss system.

Each sword will be connected to a rope that passes through a pulley.

One, two, three.

Go ahead up.

We should do something to keep that line up. It looks like this, and it'll

actually fall straighter here.

Okay, up.

That's perfect.

That's perfect.

When Chris attempts this demonstration, he'll be lying flat on his back on a

table of death.

There's not a whole lot that's safe about dropping six 30 -pound swords

human body.

But we'll do whatever we can here at the Magic Factory to limit the margin of

error.

I always get asked to do magic,

and I never know what I'm going to do until I'm in the moment. Hi.

How are you? Good. All right, let's try something.

I want you to touch a chip, any chip you'd like.

Aren't the chips awesome, by the way?

They are.

Touch a chip.

Okay, put it in my hand.

I want you to see this side of the chip and the other side of the chip.

All right, now this is what we're going to do. I want you to name for me a

figure, a celebrity.

It could be somebody dead or alive. It could be Mother Teresa or I don't care.

want you to name for me the first thing. Trust your instincts.

Who?

What are you thinking of? Tell me.

Jesus. Jesus.

Yeah, it worked.

Okay.

I want you to watch this.

I want you to allow that image in your mind of Jesus.

I want you to visualize what you think Jesus looks like, what's been depicted

Jesus. I want it to burn in your mind, to burn in your mind.

Watch.

Oh, my God.

I brought the chips out I know that they were not like special chips.

It was so cool.

The face on the chip, it wasn't there before. It was just playing. He showed

both sides.

Oh, my God. No way.

That face on the chip, it was real. I screamed.

I was like, you know. Oh, my gosh. It was amazing.

My demonstration based on Clyde Barker's movie, Lord of Illusions, is only 12

days away.

And right now, I want to see how far along John and Doug are with

I need to be sure that what was in that movie and

what's in my mind has translated here to the magic factory.

If the wind is five miles an hour, how does that affect the dynamics of the

sword falling?

It will blow them.

That's our only concern.

Well, that's the concern of Mother Nature. How do you put that into the

equation?

I don't know if we can.

The variables keep stacking up against Chris when it comes to this

demonstration. Spiro better factor this in when he's locking in the location.

Here's the other thing, too.

There's no movement. You know, these help keep you registered to the table so

that you don't get hit. But if one of these does drop cord, you can't, you

have time to move.

Blow some big -ass fans.

And test the wind that you're generating from the fan, and then see how it

affects that.

The wind in Vegas can be unpredictable, especially at night.

We've got to get Spiro to find a location that can protect us from the

don't need another layer of danger.

How much do they weigh at Thorpe?

These are probably a good 25, 30 pounds. And we've had to add weight, and we

might even add more. Well, the more weight you add, the safer it makes it as

as the wind, but then it makes it more dangerous because then it's going to go

through you.

Everything has a price.

Chris's life is really on the line with this one.

It feels like there are almost too many variables.

Exactly. If I'm wrong with my prediction and I get hurt, that's one thing, okay?

I accept that. But if I'm right and I get hurt, then I'll be pissed.

I mean, there are so many factors that are going into it that it can really get

messed up.

You know, when you're doing stunts in a movie, there are people that have gotten

killed. Look at Brandon Lee, you know. That was the scene that was set up. You

know, it was prop and the prop killed him. This is something from a movie, but

I'm really doing in a real environment, in one take.

So we can't have variables.

I'm going to give it the option to change your mind. If not, I'm through.

Do it.

I'm done. I'm done.

Magic is a mental game, whether it's an illusion, an escape, or trying to

influence somebody's mind.

Eli Roth directed Cabin Fever and Hostile and is a master of horror and

in his own right.

Tonight, I'll see if he can identify whether I'm actually making a prediction

if I'm not.

You know, you have a twisted mind because of what you do. It tells me a

I wanted to try something with your mind, and check it out. I have some

with different colors.

I want you to see we have a blue one, we have a green one, and we have a red

one, okay?

Now, I want you just to think of one, but tell me when you have one, but don't

let me influence you in any way, okay?

Do you have a color in your mind?

I do.

What is the color that you're thinking of? I'm thinking of blue.

Blue. Now, I want you to see, it's very interesting.

You could have picked red, right? You could have picked green.

But you picked blue. And I, honestly, I have not asked you to pick blue. This is

not set up in any way. Is that true?

That's completely true. And obviously, people would think because it's me, I'm

going to pick red because of blood.

So, I wanted to pick what was, you know, the not obvious color. But no, there's

absolutely no influence whatsoever.

Well, this is what's crazy. Crazy.

Let me show you. I want you to turn over the blue card because I knew you were

going to pick the blue card. I felt it before I met you. And I wrote something

on that one card and only that card. Check it out. Turn over the blue card.

Look at what it says.

You will choose this blue card.

It's hard to freak me out, but I'm genuinely stumped. It's driving me

want to know how you did it. It's all about the presentation. And you know

about movies, right? Of course. It's all how you set the person up

psychologically, right?

Basically, you have three different outs.

In other words, no matter what card they select, you have three different ways

to have the same conclusion.

So you pick blue on the back of the blue card. I wrote that.

Right there.

If you would have selected green inside the envelope, I had a prediction

written. So I would have never showed this. You would have said green. I would

have said inside the envelope, I have a prediction.

Look what it says.

You will choose the green card. Yes. Now, if you didn't pick the green and

selected the red, I would have said.

Isn't it very interesting? I wrote one thing and only one thing on the

Turn it over and bam, you will choose the red card right over there. It's as

simple as that.

That was awesome. That's a great track.

How many miles per hour on the day of is it going to take for us to cancel this

thing?

I'm going to blow air 5 miles an hour, 10 miles an hour, 15, to see what the

effects are on the blades. Because the thing we don't want is once these things

erupt, if they veer at all, and we drop them, we're going to fall out of the

zone. And I'm going to spear them, and we can't have that.

Chris was inspired by Clive Barker's movie, Lord of Illusion, to create the

ultimate game of Russian roulette.

Chris will predict the order of the sword that random audience members will

choose. to avoid being impaled through the heart.

I'm getting about 10 miles an hour right there.

See how much closer that got to the table?

About 15 miles an hour wind speed. I can tell you right now, I'm not going for

that. If I drop this, I'm going to skew him.

We're definitely going to need to find a location that protects us from the

wind. I'm recording information to help Spiro on his scout with Banaszczak. Pray

for zero win. That's what I want. Zero win. Okay.

So, look, I think this will work here. All right. I mean, the awesome thing is,

look at all these people. I know. I know. This is awesome. You don't have to

worry about wrangling anybody.

We're going to have this trust system. We're going to set it up. We need a good

23 feet across either way from here. How much wind can we go with if we have to

go with any?

Five miles an hour tops.

Is it about 2 .3?

Yeah. So this is perfect.

It's sort of an enclosure, too. Think about it. Let's lock it down and let's

it.

I think we've gotten all the friction out of the lines. They're all falling

pretty good.

I just want to run through this one more time and see that we're all cool. All

right. So we're going to take the plates.

It goes around with them.

They're all picked random, and then they just... I'm just going to pick a number

here. Up here.

There.

All right, first one. He's laying on the table.

All right, so first one here.

Hold it. Ready.

Uh -oh.

That sword locked up. That's not good.

What's happening here is one of the ropes is getting caught up in its

It's easy enough to fix by entangling them.

But we've got to make sure that all the snags are worked out before showtime.

All right, so I'm going to go one first. Ready and go.

Go.

In this case, the death sword was number one and would have killed Chris.

So it's vital that Chris makes the correct prediction or he's dead.

The only X factor is the wind.

If it's too windy, any sword could kill him.

We've got the systems to respond. You pull a line, a sword falls down.

order it's going to be in.

that's decided by, you know, do you call it fate?

I mean, there's no prayer there.

And how are you deciding which one is going to be the death sort?

Is it the last one that's left? My premonition is that it's going to be

And at the end, if I'm feeling like whoever is helping me from the audience

like, you know, I feel that might not be correct.

I'm going to give it the option. You want to change your mind?

Yeah.

As someone who has performed mentalism for 20 plus years, I'm really concerned

about the amount of opportunities that Chris has introduced for something to go

wrong.

Are we going? Yes, I'm doing this. Go.

I have the confidence in my ability, but I don't have the confidence in these

pulleys. The rope is constantly getting snagged in them.

Pull number one. I want you to go to number

two.

Are we really doing this? Yes, I'm doing this. Go.

Do you feel that that's correct? Should you change your mind?

I don't. Bandit check.

I'm not doing it.

Yeah, I, yeah, okay.

You sure you shouldn't change your mind? Yeah. You feel it? Yeah.

Kristen's been on the magic team for about a year. Chris knows Kristen much

better than she even knows herself.

So much so that he's going to be able to influence her without even realizing

it. And that experience is going to make her a much better mentalist. Good.

Do it.

I'm done. I'm done.

If he wants someone to pull the next lever, he's going to have to find

else to do it.

Coming up.

If I'm successful, I will reveal my prediction.

And if I'm not,

things went horribly wrong.

Okay. That's it, right? That's it, good?

Yeah.

It's a great day for dropping swords.

Yeah, man.

I'm formulating my prediction because ultimately it's not my team that's under

the swords.

It's my life on the line with Lord of Illusions.

With Lord of Illusions, I must predict the order the swords will fall. But

now, I'm going to practice my method on total strangers.

What's up, guys?

Gals, how are you?

I want to try something with you because I'm going to be doing a demonstration

that literally puts my life on the line. And before I do that, I'm just trying

to put myself through a series of tests because what my whole thing is is about

studying human behavior, mannerism, how you're playing the game. That tells me a

lot about your individuality. Now, I've never met any of you before. Is that

true? Honestly.

Okay.

What's your name?

Angel. Angel. What's up, man?

I knew I was going to meet you. Come over here.

You're going to watch it. You're going to be the witness, all right?

I have a letter over here that I just wrote while I was watching you play the

game. You can hold on to the letter. Just keep it in your hand. Keep it like

this so everybody can see it, okay?

Not planned, am I correct?

All right.

So all of you are going to use your right hand to write any letter you want.

on your left hand.

When you're done, close your fist and turn back around.

Do it now, please.

Any letter you like.

Any letter.

Write it really large, your fingers facing up. Write it large, as large as

possibly can.

Good. You changed your mind, didn't you? You were going with something else and

you changed it?

You did. Don't lie to me, man. I know what you're thinking.

Honestly, I had a vision of this, and this is what I'm going off of. As a

of fact, let's go with what I feel. If you want to change the position you're

in, do it now.

Wherever you want to go, just go there now.

You can stay where you are. It doesn't matter.

Has everything been completely fair and at random?

Good. I want you each to take a left hand, keep it closed, and bring it

I want you to touch each left hand.

So make a line. Take your hand.

Put your hand out. Touch your hand. Create a line. Come closer. Come closer.

Come closer.

Come closer.

Just create a line.

Okay? Good.

Now, keep it just like that.

I wrote something down. I want you to see.

I have not. You held it the entire time, right? Check it out. I'm going to read

you what I wrote. I wrote, when I said letter, I was talking about.

What is in this letter, each letter will form the word

believe.

Right there.

I want you to open up your hand first, then your hand, then your hand, then

hand. Go, go, go, go.

Now turn your hands around and look at me. What the hell?

No way.

I really almost switched. I was going to write a different letter. And then I

decided to go with an E. The craziest thing I've ever seen.

Easily. That was real. That messed me up.

If something happens with Chris, seriously, people, move out of the way

him get to him immediately.

When people hear Chris is performing, they show up in the thousands.

Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to Lord of Illusions.

For first off, a lady to help me out with this. Now, I'm looking around for a

woman.

How about you?

What is your name?

Barbara. Barbara, can you come over on this side? Can we get Barbara over here?

You're going to help me. Give a nice round of applause for Barbara, ladies

gentlemen.

Yes.

Now, Barbara, have we ever met before?

No. And that is the God's honest truth, ladies and gentlemen. I have not met her

in my entire life.

We have a chest right over here, ladies and gentlemen. That chest contains a

premonition that I had days ago. About six numbers in a specific sequence.

And I placed it in that chest. The key for the chest is in my pocket.

If I'm successful, I will reveal my prediction.

And if I'm not...

Things went horribly wrong.

Barbara will release each of those pins, releasing this sword and hopefully not

penetrating my heart.

Chris made his prediction two days ago as to the order of the swords and which

sword would be the death sword, the last sword to be pulled.

Barbara's going to take that ball and she's going to toss it. it out there to

you. Each person who catches the ball will choose one number between one and

six, and that will determine the order of how the swords fall.

Now take that ball.

Give it a nice toss, Barbara.

Sir, I want you to yell out a number for me between one and six. Three. Three.

Okay. We are going to place it on the pin rail. We will put number three right

there.

So that would be the first line, but now it's going to be the third line. Do we

all understand? stand each other.

Now, sir, I want you to take that ball and you toss it completely at random. If

you catch it, sir, yell out a number between one and six, but do not pick

Sir,

give it a nice far touch so people at home see that this is not the end. Right

over here, sir, I want you to yell out a number, either one, six, four, or two.

Sir, take that ball and toss it.

At random, doesn't matter where.

Sir, yell out a number for me, either two, six, or one.

Six. Six.

Now we have three, five, four, six. Now toss it as far as you can. Nice far

toss. There it is. There it is. Get it, girl. There she is. Did you pick a

number yet?

No. It's one or two. Which one would you like?

One. So by default, we only have one number left, so we'll place that last.

So whatever happens, you are not responsible for it. Okay, thank you.

Coming up. Take your hand off five.

Wow,

you see the swords moving, ladies and gentlemen? That is the win. That is what

I'm concerned about.

Barbara, take your finger and put it on number one.

Got it.

Barbara. Yeah.

Pull that pin out, number one, and drop it to the floor. Do it now.

I did.

We don't know if it barely caught or if it's really jammed.

It may be a hairpin trigger that could go off at any moment.

I don't like this.

I don't like this at all.

This is exactly what happened in the run -through when the rope got snagged.

But this time, Chris was underneath it.

The worst thing that could happen to me, if that sword could get kinked up like

that, and then it comes down, and then it just comes down, stops, it swings,

then it releases.

This is one stunt, you do not want anything, and I mean anything to go

even a situation like this, because it's just not good.

And it's getting windier. Look at the swords, how they're shaking right now.

The jacketing on the rope is stuck on the pulley again. So now we've got to

in there, fix the rope, lubricate the pulley before the crowd starts to

or Chris has his second thoughts.

You don't have to do it.

No, I got to do it.

Now that the guys have fixed the rigging, it's up to Chris to regain his

Put your finger on number one.

Got it.

Barbara, pull one. Pull it and drop it on the ground.

Barbara, put your finger on number two.

Got it.

Barbara.

Yes. Pull number two now.

Barbara, go to number three. Put your finger on three.

This is really scary watching this.

Barbara, put your finger on number four.

As we do this, the odds get more in the favor of me getting stabbed.

Pull it, Barbara. Four.

Barbara, there are two swords above me.

There's five and six.

I want you to take your finger, and I want you just to touch the top of the

of five.

Now touch six.

Got it.

Listen to your inner voice. I trust you, Barbara.

Do you believe in faith?

Yes, I do.

You can change your mind. What are you feeling, five or six, Barbara?

I feel six.

Six? Yes.

Do you really feel that, Barbara?

I feel it.

Typically, people don't change their minds, but I'm going to have to go with

you, Barbara. Take your hand off five. Take it.

When the death sword fell, I'm like, what the hell happened? We tested this

thing.

Give me a microphone.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me show you my prediction.

Bring down the chest for me, please.

Bring it all the way down. I want you to see this honestly, folks.

is still right, Barbara.

I'm going to open it up right now. Look, I want you to see everybody that this

is completely fair.

Now, Barbara, I'm going to reach inside. I'm going to grab the prediction and

you are going to carry it right over there to those numbers. Come right over

here.

And I want you to open it up.

We have the first number.

We have three.

And I want you to show here. I want you to hold the mic. Let me show everybody.

Ladies and gentlemen, check this out. Our number was what? Three, five, four,

six, one, two.

We have three right there. First position, three. Then we have a five,

six, one, two.

master at cheating death. He's done it time and time again.

There's always an X factor, and there's always that day when your number will

come up.

The only way I can call last night's demonstration a success is because I'm

alive. Otherwise, it was a complete and utter disaster.

There was only 20 seconds between life and death.

I'm doing my job and then somebody else hasn't done the due diligence.

That's inexcusable. We shouldn't be in this situation anymore.

Seriously. That was scary.