I stumbled over this documentary and was soon captured. Perhaps because I recalled 10-year-old me beginning an unwritten novel on mother's new Smith Corona portable and 14-year-old me banging on clunky manuals in middle school typing classes. I suspect that for many of the collectors featured in this show, now-impractical devices trigger nostalgic yearnings for times when life seemed less complicated and more enjoyable.
Filmmaker Doug Nichol offers both recognizable celebrities and little-known folks, each with their own level of interest in, or obsession for, fading technology. Another juxtaposition involves people preserving outdated machines and a sculptor deconstructing them to give machine parts new life in unique art forms.
As the program evolves, it becomes less about machines and more about the people who treasure them.
California Typewriter
2016
Action / Documentary
California Typewriter
2016
Action / Documentary
Plot summary
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.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
December 12, 2017 at 05:32 AM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Fascinating
Great for the typewriter and writer enthusiast.
I am a writer. I have children who love to explore, tinker and create. This documentary has given me the insight and freedom to move the broken and working into different categories. I adore fixing manual typewriters and keeping them in pristine condition. But having children and this doc I now also enjoy them using the broken pieces or very damaged typewriters for other usage. Art, animatronics, fixing other toys etc. As I say, they are fixed and they are now usable. I wish people would use them. Even I unfortunately don't use them. Technology has long surpassed them. But every once and a while I take one out of storage, type whatever my heart desires and enjoy it much like a glass of fine wine. C'est la vie.