Ever Since the World Ended :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Different; one of the best "after-doomsday" films ever

2008-09-11
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It's not a big-budget, CGI-bloated, over-hyped action flick so it won't be everyone's cup of tea. This is a wonderful film, however. It's simply a powerful and thoughtful story told well from start to finish.

I highly recommend it for its realism and ability to stir deep thoughts about how the world might be after a global catastrophe.

--Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God

Just not a good movie at all

2008-06-03
WARNING!!! THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW!!!!

SPOILERS WITHIN

Sorry, but this movie is just not that great. I know it's a low budget film, but that doesn't excuse the poor plot, unbelievable scenarios, and massive plot holes. the basic plot: a plague wipes out the world's population, leaving 186 people left in San Francisco. one issue: we hear so much about this plague, yet learn nothing about it. we aren't told a single bit about it's origin, initial outbreak, symptoms, how it spread across the world, or how it's spread (it's assumed it's not airborne, given the lack of face masks, but that's all we get). we don't know why some people were apparently immune (and why the majority of those people are white, fairly educated people. I counted 2 minorities in this whole film) or whether it affected the environment (there are mentions of wild dogs, and we see birds and fish). overall, we get zero information about this plague, other than the fact that it's deadly. even if this movie was less about a killer plague and more about the people that survive it, this info could have been worked in somehow, espcially since we get several interviews w/ a doctor

also lacking is info about the current situation. we hear over and over how there's only 186 people left in S.F. but get no info about the outside world. we don't learn how the rest of the country and world survive, what sort of political structure is left, or even if the crisis is really over (we're just left to assume the plague magically disappeared from the face of the Earth). also, everything is very, very clean. it's a bit unbelievable to see the streets completely devoid of trash, bodies, burned cars, scavengers, or other signs of an apocalypse. given everyone's nonchalant view on life (a girl just laughs off the fact she came across a dead body, people are holding dinner parties, making art, playing musical instruments, and learning about Da Vinci, as opposed to learning how to survive in this new world) and the fact everyone is so clean and well fed, you wouldn't even know the end of the world had occurred.

plot wise, the movie isn't strong. there is a supposed crazy guy living in the town and the people are trying to decide what to do w/ him (they get the grand idea of banishing him, but seem surprised he came back, as if 186 people could block off the entire city). the film makers trek out to the middle of nowhere for some absurd reason (they set out to talk to people, but go to a desolate area). people in this movie are very quick to kill each other, despite the fact the human race is nearly extinct. and the ending is just pure idiocy.

the concept was marvelous, but the movie just wasn't all that great, even considering this was a low budget film. compare this film to other post-apocalyptic films involving disease and plague (The Stand, 28 Days Later, etc) and you'll see how this film pales in comparison. this is a very amateurish film that should have never seen the light of day outside the film department of a university

San Francisco values in the aftermath -- just plain stupid

2008-04-06
OK, I'll admit up front that I stopped watching this movie before it concluded. I stopped right about the point where the young woman announced she had decided she wanted to "parent" a child by herself and had publicly approached some male visitor to assist in her impregnation. That happened right after a lovely older woman wearing nail polish and lots of jewelry -- holding court in her perfectly-appointed hilltop home where she hosted communal "book club" type gatherings -- announced sternly that there would be "no guns at the table." (This sent a young woman who sported a sidearm scurrying off apologetically to remove her weapon before taking tea.)

To imagine that any of these scenarios would play out in any form after a plague has reduced the San Francisco area to a population of 186 is frankly absurd. To imagine that only those who are artists and free-thinkers would survive is absurd. Where are the hooligans? Where are the high school dropouts? Where are the minorities? (Was that chic Aleut-looking guy the only non-white who made it?) To imagine that a room-full of 20-somethings would listen raptly, jaws open, as the attire of French courtesans is explained to them by a volunteer teacher -- that, too, is absurd.

What were these people eating? Canned food left over at the Piggly Wiggly after 12 years? Who was cutting their perfect lawns? Where were they getting water? (There was a stab made at explaining that, but not a convincing one.) Where were the dogs and cats? The rotting cars? The rust, the dirt, the blight? We were given to understand that there was only one "not nice" guy alive, and he was basically only made that way by some weird type of PTSD from being a "care-giver" during the plague.

I realize science fiction does have the obvious fictional component. But it really does need to have some semblance of reality to work.

Save your money. This movie is just plain stupid.

Sorry but...

2008-04-05
I found the movie boring. It's a documentary style and I couldn't find anything, from scientific to dramtic point of view that sparkles an interest.
By the way, At the copy I got there were no subtitles. It seems that Amazon don't like the hearing impaired much...

Like, Wow Man! Pass a Cigarette

2008-03-19
This "documentary" has its good and insightful points, but ultimately it grows old halfway through. After the first 20 minutes "Ever Since The World Ended" feels more like a 60's hippie commune than a group of end of the world survivors. I imagine if you live in San Francisco this film will seem very real, but for those of us outside this culture it comes off as a group of 21st century hippies playing pretend.

A very interesting documentary style look at a post-apocalyptic world

2008-02-21
"...clever... fascinating... thought-provoking..." - The New York Times

WINNER - Best Film Award - London Sci-Fi Film Festival / WINNER - Best Feature Audience Award - San Francisco IndieFest / OFFICIAL SELECTION - Los Angeles Film Festival / OFFICIAL SELECTION - Seattle International Film Festival / OFFICIAL SELECTION - Lake Placid Film Forum / OFFICIAL SELECTION - London Raindance Film Festival

"... continually tickles the mind while leaving a heavy lump in the chest..." - Variety

The only thing to fear is people

San Francisco. Population: 186

Twelve years after a devastating plague has emptied the world of people, two San Francisco filmmakers traverse the nearly deserted city with a camera and a microphone. In a series of encounters and interviews with a ragtag handful of fellow survivors, they explore the harsh realities, the day-to-day challenges and the tough - sometimes shocking - choices facing everyday people struggling to build a community on a large and lonely planet.

Special Features: Extra Footage / Trailer

approx. 78 mins. col. WIDESCREEN

Excellent post apocalyptic "documentary". 2008-02-09
This is a great movie. The premise sounds a bit pretentious and cheesey but the filmakers somehow never seem to over-do the stories. They attempt to tell the stories of a few of the 186 survivors left in San Francisco. The film brings up more than a few philsophical debates that the survivors encounter. Look for a great acting turn from Myth Buster's Adam Savage. Most of the acting is great and the filmakers convey a sense of desolation in SF with out a huge CG budget. Probably one of the best movies I have purchased from Amazon. I hope that the writer/director/cinematography team can get a project with a much bigger budget.

An Excellent Film, Long Past Due 2007-10-07
I've waited over five years for this film. Soon as I heard the premise and execution, I was good to go. Unfortunately, it stayed years in DVD-limbo for the same reason most good things do: money.

This was a small, independent film - so small, in fact, I was able to get in touch with one of the creators, Joshua Atesh (no, not Calum Grant!) and get myself placed on his "list" of people who'd been chafing for a copy of their very own for an eternity.

All that trouble, and I found out about this film's DVD release as a seeming-afterthought, and through a back channel... very sad!

Great flick. Even after five years of anticipation, I still wasn't let down. Perhaps the best post-apocalyptic flick I've seen on DVD... imagine that! No stars, no special effects to speak of, no on-location segments or mentionable production values, yet it was better than most of the "blockbuster" schlock that comes out around summertime each year.

I mean, the only thing we really got here was talking-face interviews inside nondescript homes, or outside in anonymous woods. Yet somehow, all of it was far more interesting in premise and execution than many of those jillion-dollar Hollywood movies.

Hope these guys get something more than just their money back for all their troubles. I'd like to see more stuff from them along this vein, if such is possible.

Good San Francisco flick to watch on an overcast day 2007-09-24
This is a fun, interesting film about a plague that hits and leaves 186 people left to figure out their lives. Particularly great are the scenes of San Francisco and some of the characters that emerge. Makes you think about how it would really be if a plague did hit and only left 186 people in the world. This is a great purchase or rental for a overcast or rainy day in SF!

What it would REALLY be like... 2007-08-09
I waited months for this movie to come out on DVD and I'll tell
you I was not disappointed. One WARNING though, this scenario is
so realistic, so well portrayed, its disturbing and it'll leave
a lump in your throat. We may have a lot of ideas of what the "end
of the world" means, but this portrayal of it will give you pause.

Be aware this is not a "movie" per se, it's a "home footage" taken
by the survivors of a pandemic appocalypse. The reality is far different
from what we've ever seen presented before. Avian Flu fans, (I'm one) this
will give you something to think about. PS Adam Savage was great in this
movie, hope to see him in other films, his portrayal was very believable.