Anyone seen the Film?

[Dave Hughes]

It has been a week or so now since "Linotype: The Film" was premièred.

Has anyone managed to see it yet?

Fancy giving us a quick review?

I don't think a date has been announced for the UK screenings yet, but I'm planning on seeing it.


Linotype film world premiere by everyplace, on Flickr

[Mechanic]

Naturally being in Australia I haven't seen the movie, but there is a review in PrintWeek. It is writen from an outsider's point of view. I found it interesting. I think it is a compilation of stories we in hot metal have lived and heard many times and we still find them interesting. The reviewer, James Chase obviously enjoyed it.

Wilson's movie does, of course, pay homage to Mergenthaler's greatness, but it's not really about him. In fact, for much of it, even the machine takes a back seat. Like you couldn't see this coming, it turns out it's all about people.

The Film is a hugely engaging wake-up to the importance of his invention to society, you don't need a penchant for history and machines to appreciate its brilliance. If you're interested in human beings at all, then you're going to love it.

http://www.printweek.com/Design/article/1116581/review-linotype-film/

[Dave Hughes]

If you want to look really cool while attending the film in your local area, why not get one of these T-shirts from the Metal Type Zazzle shop.

I'm planning on getting one before the film comes to the UK.

If I put on a bit of an American accent people could perhaps mistake me for the director or something!!!

Linotype T-Shirt by MetalType
View more Letterpress T-Shirts

Of course, if you wanted to be a little more cryptic you could try this one.
I'm in two minds about which one to wear!

Etaoin T Shirt (Dark) by MetalType
make your own custom t-shirt at zazzle

[Dave Hughes]

Thanks for the link to the "Print Week" article George. It's the best review of the film I've seen so far.

Some nice looking stills from the film here to whet everyone's appetite (courtesy of "Print Week").


Linotype the Film: Stills

[Timothy Trower]

Filmmakers raised money online (News-Leader.com)

I have seen the film through special arrangement with the director; then again, my dad and myself appear in the movie, and all but one shot of the working of a Linotype was filmed in my print shop on a 1948 Model 5.  Dad's health precludes him going to a theatre for the midwest premiere, so it was good to be able to watch the film with him.

It is a blending of history, quirky characters, vision and heartbreak (watching a Model 14 be picked up and repeatedly dropped at a scrap yard); those who operate the machine and who are trying to preserve it for the future are the primary focus of the film.

The link above is for our home town newspaper -- they ran a feature article on the movie yesterday -- and we hope to fill a 1200 seat theatre when the movie shows here next month.


Filmmakers raised money online (News-Leader.com)

[Dave Hughes]

Thanks for the info and the link Timothy.

Nice photograph, it's nice to put a face to a contributor!

I think everyone's appetite is now well and truly whetted! 

[tjtrower]

Glad to oblige.  The film is really about the machine first, and we operators second.  Through a skillful use of interviews, shots of the machines at each shop, archival footage obtained in part from what used to be Mergenthaler Linotype and a tiny bit of animation, the story of the machine is laid out in detail -- loving detail -- and I've not heard from a single movie goer who did not thoroughly enjoy the film.

Our first day of shooting was in August, 2010, and the original intent of the director was to put together a seven minute film about the Linotype to be shown on the Internet -- something professionally done as opposed to many of the current videos out there on You Tube.  It was a hot day, and we had to shut the doors of the shop -- too much street noise -- and turn off the fans.  That took it to about 105 degrees; so hot that the cameraman had to ice the camera down to keep it from overheating.

That evening, the guys decided to make a real documentary about the machine, and to do it right.  Doug Wilson told me that they ultimately had twenty-seven photo shoots, and if I remember right, six or seven of them were at my shop.  (Naturally -- the machine could be easily lit, and I was accommodating and in the same town the crew lives in.  These extra shoots ranged from one day-long session with the machine filmed against a green screen for future animation purposes -- footage that was ultimately never used -- to a session with Dave Seat filmed replacing a mouthpiece, to one session that was nothing more than an audio engineer coming in and recording all of the various sounds of the machine as it was put through its paces.  Just filming the main titles (four lines total of mats in the assembler) took most of a day!)

Trust me -- the film is well worth watching, and for all of you that are out reach of a showing of the film, it will be released on DVD and as a digital download early this summer.   

IF we can, we'll have a working Model 31 at the Springfield showing; if not, I am having an open house at the shop that same week, and theatre goers will be invited to stop by for a demonstration of the Model 5 that is used so extensively in the film.