California Typewriter is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Doug Nichol, that explores the mythology attached to the typewriter, as various obsessives (including Tom Hanks, John Mayer, David McCullough and Sam Shepard) celebrate the physicality of the typewriter both as object and means of summoning the creative spirit. It also documents the struggles of typewriter repair shop California Typewriter.

California Typewriter
Film poster
Directed byDoug Nichol
Produced by
StarringTom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepard, David McCullough
CinematographyDoug Nichol
Edited byDoug Nichol
Production
company
Distributed byGravitas Ventures
Release date
  • September 2, 2016 (2016-09-02) (Telluride Film Festival)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$218,563[1]
Eponymous California Typewriter store in Berkeley, California

Cast

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The following people appeared in California Typewriter:

Reception

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The film premiered at the 2016 Telluride Film Festival and was released theatrically to critical acclaim. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "California Typewriter is an affectionate, nostalgic love letter to the typed word from enthusiasts and experts alike."[2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote, "The movie is a quaintly ingenious meditation on what the digital era is doing to us — how it has taken us a step away from reality, even as it's made everything easier."[4]

References

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  1. ^ "California Typewriter". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "California Typewriter (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "California Typewriter Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  4. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (August 17, 2017). "Film Review: 'California Typewriter'". Variety.
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