California Typewriter
California Typewriter
| 18 August 2017 (USA)
California Typewriter Trailers

A story about people whose lives are connected by typewriters. A meditation on creativity and technology featuring Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepard, David McCullough and others.

Reviews
SoTrumpBelieve

Must See Movie...

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Dotsthavesp

I wanted to but couldn't!

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Bergorks

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

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Leoni Haney

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

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marsalone

First off let me just say that this film is smack dab in the middle of my wheelhouse: I love typewriters (have a small collection) and love documentaries. With all of my predisposition to love this movie, I felt bored stopping it in the middle and watching the rest a day or two later. It just isn't very compelling.It's like every subject is just superficially addressed. There is not a lot of substance or depth here. This documentary could have been much better. Tom Hanks' enthusiasm is palpable and infectious, unfortunately he isn't in the film enough. John Mayer comes across really well but nothing he says is ever challenged. I'm thinking about how he just says you get nothing physical from writing lyrics in Word. Mayer could just hit the print button and have a hard copy. There has got to be something else driving him to use a typewriter. Plus he is using a daisy wheel electronic typewriter whereas just about all other machines in he film are manuals with maybe the mention of Selectrics.I would like to have seen talking heads debate between the usage of manual vs. electric vs. electronic typewriters. Some mention of Ted "Unabomber" Kaczynski who had a foreboding message about technology and used a manual Smith Corona to write his Manifesto. Seriously the most infamous typewriter lover of the past 20 years and no mention of him or his ideas which would've fit right in with this movie.Instead this is just a fluff piece on typewriters and their advocates that's really weak and boring even to someone who loves the subject matter.Truth be told the filmmakers should have just focused on the typewriter repair shop and maybe 5 or 6 of their clients. A lot of these typewriter lovers are freaks and weirdos with all sorts of craziness going on. Using the the repair shop as a hub to explore the lives of the wackiest of its clients would no doubt be very entertaining.Good production values, some nice jazz on the soundtrack and some decent talking heads bumps this up to a 6.

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jamesononline

A diverse look at a niche I didn't know was so cool! Looks at so many unknown aspects of how the typewriter manifests itself in the current world, from collections, to repair shops to making music from them. This documentary is not just about the typewriter but about people and progress in a technological age.

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zkonedog

One of the big reasons that "California Typewriter" showed up on my radar was likely because I happened to be reading a book at the same time called "Revenge of Analog". That book describes a movement back towards things such as records, paper, board games, and other physical (not digital) forms of leisure and commerce. That is the main theme of "California Typewriter" too...only focusing on the device listed in the title.This documentary basically focuses on a number of different human interest stories involving a piece of technology largely thought "obsolete": the typewriter. From Tom Hanks' typewriter collection to the actual California Typewriter story, to a sculpture artist and and a collector looking for his coup de grace (and even a little history thrown in), this doc attacks the typewriter's story from nearly every angle.Even above the human stories, though, is the notion present throughout the entire doc of that "return to analog" of sorts. As technology marches on, sometimes we don't stop to evaluate whether the physical experience of creation needs to take a back seat to the ease of creation. Don't get me wrong...I'm not exchanging my iPhone for a flip phone, nor am I turning in my MacBook for a desktop PC. I'm no Luddite. But it is a fascinating idea for me (old enough to remember a time before the Internet and mobile everything)...this notion that sometimes, say, the act of typing something on a physical device might be more satisfying than the ease of a word processor.So, even though I'm not really "into" typewriters (I can honestly say I've never used one in my life!), I can say that this doc fascinated me and connected with me on a nostalgic, but also intellectual level. A return to analog devices may not be for everyone, but docs like this prove that the newest technology may not be for everyone, either. There is room for both, and even a mixture of both.

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David Ferguson

Greetings again from the darkness. QWERTY. Chances are you recognize that from your laptop keyboard, and have never thought about the origin or design reason. This is just one of the fascinating topics in the surprisingly interesting and entertaining documentary from Doug Nichol (former music video guru for Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Sting, and The New Kids on the Block). Did you know there are folks who collect and still use typewriters? Well there are, and you've even heard of some of them: Tom Hanks, Sam Shepard, David McCullough and John Mayer. We hear from each of these as they describe their connection to the "old school" way of producing text on a page. Mr. Nichol began with the idea of making a short film focusing on a small typewriter repair shop in Berkeley. As the story evolved, he learned of the many facets associated with the community of typewriter enthusiasts … those who refuse to give up the old way simply because a new way exists. There is history. There is nostalgia. There is a link to creativity. The film explores all of this and more.Christopher Latham Sholes was a believer in Women's Rights in the 1800's, and his invention of the typewriter was to create more job opportunities for women. His prototype looked more like a piano, and due to a lack of investor interest, he finally had to sell to Remington in order to get production and marketing. By 1890, there were 60 manufacturers of typewriters, and the Sholes and Glidden model remains a gem of any collection even today.It's bittersweet to see the recently deceased Sam Shepard and hear him explain how he never got along with a computer screen, but loves the feel and sound of his typewriter. He created some of the most marvelous plays ever written, and compares loading the paper to 'saddling a horse', and notes the sound of typing has a "percussion about it". John Mayer recalls seeing Bob Dylan "playing" a typewriter as he wrote his songs, and has since made it apart of his own songwriting process. An inordinate amount of time is spent with Mayer on screen, but it does make the point that even the generation raised on technology can find value in an object that was once an office staple, and is now a mere relic to most. Writer David McCullough claims the typewriter is the only way he can write, and Tom Hanks seems to truly enjoy talking about his typewriter obsession, and how he spends time each day typing out thank you notes and correspondence. The repair shop is the heart of the story, and we continually come back to Ken Alexander as he lovingly restores each machine that comes in. It's with a bit of irony that we watch Ken and the store owner Herb come to realize that they must rely on today's technology of websites and social media as a last hope for survival. In stark contrast to Ken bringing typewriters back to life, we see modern sculptor Jeremy Mayes as he scavenges for typewriter parts for his latest piece. And in an odd twist, we meet a group who makes music with typewriters and actually perform classic songs with their own vibe. Nostalgia has brought back vinyl records, and there is a community of folks who believe the typewriter revolution is underway. The rationale is that technology is now ruling our lives and we need to step back and get in touch with what is real and produce tangible results – not just use up storage on a hard drive. While we may not be convinced that "the revolution is typewritten" (from The Typewriter Insurgency Manifesto), the film is actually thought- provoking as it tracks and connects humans-machines-technology.

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