California Typewriter (2017)
92%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: 3 wins & 5 nominations
California Typewriter is an affectionate, nostalgic love letter to the typed word from enthusiasts and experts alike.
If you’re looking for a documentary that will make you want to chuck your laptop out the window and start typing on a vintage typewriter, then California Typewriter is the film for you. Director Doug Nichol takes us on a journey through the history of these clunky machines, and the people who still use and love them today. From Tom Hanks to a repairman who can fix anything, this film is a love letter to a bygone era. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and get ready to fall in love with the click-clack of the typewriter keys.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Gravitas Ventures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-PG
Year of Release
2019
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 43m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 18, 2017 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 20, 2017
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, California Typewriter, typewriter, enthusiasts, experts, nostalgia, love letter, Doug Nichol, John Benet, Nion McEvoy, Tom Hanks, John Mayer, David McCullough, Sam Shepard, Gravitas Ventures, box office, budget, reviewed by Bruce DeMara, Brad Wheeler, Marjorie Baumgarten, Mark Feeney, Bill Goodykoontz, Pat Padua, Michael J Casey, Dennis Harvey, Steven Prokopy, Richard von Busack, Malik Adán, MPAA rating, producer, director, writer, genre, limited release, streaming, audience score, critic consensus, Smith Corona, Vince Guaraldi, human stories, history, analog world, technology, smart phones, internet, trip, haunted, credits, horror movies, RT podcasts, Netflix series, MCU movies, TV shows, careers, newsletter, Fandango
Worldwide gross: $218,563
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $252,540
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,890
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 27,540
US/Canada gross: $218,563
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $252,540
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,495
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,031
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $5,813
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,791
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
John Mayer – Self
David McCullough – Self
Sam Shepard – Self
Doug Nichol – Director
John Benet – Producer
Director(s)
Doug Nichol
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
John Benet, Doug Nichol, Nion McEvoy
Film Festivals
Telluride
Awards & Nominations
3 wins & 5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (40)
There are two ready-made audiences for this doc and both will benefit from seeing it.
October 27, 2017 | Rating: 3/4
Bruce DeMara
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
I enjoyed this film about typewriters so much that I feel guilty writing this review on a computer instead of a Smith Corona.
October 27, 2017 | Rating: 4/4
Brad Wheeler
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
California Typewriter wanders a bit in its curiosity, but it is hardly a piece of ephemeral nostalgia.
September 21, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Suffusing the documentary is an almost religious reverence for this mundane and obsolete mechanical apparatus. Not that it’s undeserved.
September 21, 2017 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mark Feeney
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
The best thing is that Nichol doesn’t adopt a luddite stance. He doesn’t try to impart the evils of technology, at least not much.
September 14, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Although the film would benefit from a more reined-in focus, “California Typewriter” is a love letter to an antiquated device – one that retains its charm and utility even in the digital age.
September 7, 2017 | Rating: 2.5/4
Pat Padua
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
An exuberant embrace of an analog world.
June 15, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Michael J. Casey
Michael J. Cinema
Doug Nicol’s documentary celebrates the history and mystique around the humble machine whose heyday lasted about a century…
October 27, 2020
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
California Typewriter does feel like a bit of time travel, but in the interest of better writing, it’s a trip you’ll love taking.
May 14, 2020
Steven Prokopy
Third Coast Review
[Director Doug] Nichol’s excellent sense of place expands even to the Vince Guaraldi instrumentals on the soundtrack.
May 9, 2018
Richard von Busack
MetroActive
California Typewriter is a nostalgic documentary that will make you think about what life was like in the days before computers, smart phones, and the internet.
November 11, 2017
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
The questions this documentary raises, in between all the human stories and history it teaches, will definitely haunt you as the credits roll.
November 8, 2017 | Rating: 4.5/5
Malik Adán
Film Threat…
Plot
California Typewriter is a story about people whose lives are connected by typewriters. The film is a meditation on creativity and technology featuring Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepard, David McCullough and others.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Tom Hanks is one of the cast members in California Typewriter, appearing as himself.
Doug-Nichol.jpg
