Aaron Fisher

George Roy Hill’s classic con-man movie ignited my love of deception (in a friendly sense, of course!). I saw this movie a decade before I got interested in magic, and I didn’t know at the time that Paul Newman's card handling stand-in was John Scarne, one of the most highly regarded New York card performers of his day. So, I thought Paul Newman was really doing the miracles I saw on screen. Every time he shuffled, the Ace of Spades stayed on top. And as I watched him shuffle, I fell in love with card tricks. [Buy]

I designed my own performance style to be silly and intelligent at the same time. This movie works the same way. The Big Lebowski takes the noir genre and turns it on its ear with a stoner interpretation of one of the more maddening films of all time – Howard Hawk’s The Big Sleep. And even though The Big Lebowski has earned a rabid cult following, rank-and-file movie lovers have vastly underrated it, probably because the movie is so silly they miss how smart it really is. Beware, the comic dialogue of this film has been so eloquently textured that its underlying structure will likely elude you on the first viewing. Perhaps more than any film I've seen, this picture gets funnier and funnier each time you see it. Prepare to watch it at least three times before this becomes apparent. [Buy]

Once Upon a Time in the West. Magic and movies are both about creating completely convincing realities where the audience can suspend their disbelief freely -- and without feeling foolish for doing so. Ridley Scott is an acknowledged master of this, but I'll take Leone any day. All of Leone’s westerns succeed in this task, but this beauty really excels because of its performances. Henry Fonda plays the archetypal evil cowboy, and he chills your spine. Enjoy it, because you won't find another film like it anywhere. My runner up in this category is the oft-despised Kubrick masterpiece, Barry Lyndon. [Buy]

One of the most important aspects of magic is surprise. Ultimately, your odds of getting an audience to buy into full-blooded magic in this tech-driven world are pretty small. Most of the time, the best you can do is surprise people, and make them really glad you did. I call this “the Keyser Söze” experience. Others call it a twist ending. When it's well done, man, you just can't beat it. The Sixth Sense, the original Sleuth and The Usual Suspects all do a great job, but this one – the original, starring Edward Woodward -- is my personal favorite. To avoid spoilers, I won't say anything more here, but please, please, PLEASE do not rent the Nicolas Cage remake first. [Buy]

Right up there with Gimme Shelter, this is the best rock-and-roll movie ever made. By watching authentic rock and roll played in front of a real crowd of adoring fans, you get to experience through cinema the most powerful energy live performance has to offer. When I was much younger, I saw David Copperfield give an interview where he listed his inspirational artists, and he didn't mention any magicians. He cited Fred Astaire. Now I know what he meant. This performance film shows what a magic show can aspire to. [Buy]