Half documentary, half fiction, Jamie Mosberg’s film “The End” features skateboarders Tony Hawk, Willy Santos, Andrew Reynolds, Bucky Lasek, Heath Kirchart, Brian Sumner, and Jeremy Klein. This Birdhouse Skateboard Film production is also banned in Switzerland. Why? It might have something to do with footage of an orangutan drinking what is hopefully not real beer.
The documentary portion of “The End” includes clips of the artist-athletes displaying their gravity-defying talents. The skateboarders slice through the air and you cannot take your eyes away. If actions do in fact speak louder than words, it would be in the way the skateboarders move. The better the skater, the more the skateboard appears to be a natural extension of the boarder. Hawk and gang effortlessly negotiate levitation and being grounded. “The End” is half fiction in its depiction of actor Steve Berra’s unsavory encounter with what could be the Ghost of Not-So-Hot Skateboarders. The film also includes a vignette involving Bucky Lasek, Tony Hawk, and an explosive device.
“The End” is different from other skateboarding films because it isn’t just forty minutes of people doing cool tricks. Much planning and careful consideration of camera placement went into the film’s production. In fact, according to the making-of-featurette, it took just over a year to complete all the shooting. Fans of Tony Hawk or skateboarding in general should not miss out on “The End.” Be sure to watch the DVD Special Edition version and you’ll get over an hour of extra goodies like a tribute to Tony Hawk.
