Helvetica
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Movie Reviews of Helvetica
Movie Review: a globalized aesthetic
Summary: 5 Stars
American Airlines hasn't changed its corporate logo in forty years, and there's a good reason why: it's one word in a clean, simple, rational, and entirely unobjectionable font called Helvetica. Created by the Swiss in 1957, Helvetica is like the air or gravity, like painting your room white, or wearing khaki pants and a navy blazer. Helvetica does not need or want any exclamation points. For typeface designers and graphic artists Helvetica was like "a landslide waiting to happen." And it did happen, especially after Helvetica became the default font for Apple and then Microsoft Windows (Arial). Helvetica is one of the most ubiquitous cultural artifacts you could identify. Anywhere you look you will find Helvetica-- a tax form, the numbers on the top of a bus, the font on the side of the Challenger space shuttle, the signs for the NYC subway, etc. In many ways it's the perfect metaphor for modernism, which is why post-modernists consider it dull, lifeless, conformist, corporate, and utterly lacking in any personality. Grunge typographers loath it still, and replace it with their contorted fonts placed every which way. Producer-director Gary Hustwit interviews over a dozen "typo-manics" of various persuasions who explain how and why Helvetica is the ultimate form and content of a globalized aesthetic. This is not only an interesting film in itself, but a fascinating piece of cultural analysis of our (post) modern visual world.Movie Review: GREAT DOCUMENTARY, not just for font junkies.
Summary: 5 Stars
A lot of the good reviews are from quirky people that just "love fonts, man!!!" so I felt compelled to say that this movie is not JUST about that, and I fully admit that would be boring, but it threads much deeper (and interesting) ground. The interviews basically develop between old typists, young typists, and even younger typists. It studies Helvetica as modern, something that was born out of the modern concern with function, so all the guys that were making fonts before the 60's basically support it because they grew up within that culture, then the younger guys, making fonts in the 60's-70's, hate Helvetica. It's so bland and boring and consumerist! So we're looking at the opposition between modernism and post modernism here, and even at a younger generation that is returning to function and minimalism. When the post-modernist typist being interviewed said that people would write essays about print errors, it's a punch on post modern art itself and its apparent symbolism, ambiguity, and pretense. Not just a chat about fonts, don't let fontheads turn you off from this film.Movie Review: I have seen it over 6 times...
Summary: 5 Stars
OK I did not mean to see it 6+ times but, I actually saw it on the "big screen" when it was shown at a conference. Then, two weeks later, at another conference on a really big screen. Both with design oriented audiences but one in the U.S. and one in Europe. It was interesting to see what the two audiences found funny, or not.
Then, I rented the Netflix DVD, mainly to see the additional interviews but, that DVD did not have them for some reason. After that, it was me showing it to my design students in class.
The first time I saw it, it was fun. The second time, I saw more of the structure (brilliant work there). After that, I focused more on details and how it all interweaves.
I don't know how you could have made a better picture on this subject and kept people intrigued about it. I think the director might have to do a recut of it in a few years and remove the references to the Iraq War. These segments are not aging as well as the rest of the movie which, in some respects, will be timeless. Like Helvetica?
Movie Review: Geeky but Great
Summary: 5 Stars
I admit it, I'm a font junkie. I spent many hours in an earlier life looking through Letraset catalogs. One of the first things I did upon getting each new computer and printer was to go through all the available fonts.
Imagine my joy at stumbling across "Helvetica" late one night on public television. I ordered it the next day. The DVD is even better than the broadcast because of the wealth of additional interview materials.
As well as gaining insight on the history of type design in the 20th century, this is a delightful exploration of how designers think and work. It's quite funny in places. My favorite part was listening to how excited people get when describing the virtues (or lack thereof) of Helvetica. Fonts really are like music in their power to evoke a response in those who are attuned to them.
This is a great film. Even if you have only a passing interest in graphic design, this film will open your eyes to the pervasiveness of Helvetica in the modern world.
Movie Review: The only FONT you'll ever need
Summary: 5 Stars
Helvetica is a documentary about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It is interesting because it goes deep into each era in Graphic design and dissects why designers in that era chose to do things the way they did.
It also documents the history behind the creation of Helvetica, its creator and it being the type that was created when it was needed most. After watching this documentary, I have come to realize the versatility of Helvetica and its uniformity of usage by designers. Somehow I did not have this font on my machine and a quick $2 changed that. A lot of creative types speak their mind in 'Helvetica' and it is interesting to see how passionate some of them are when it comes to FONT types, something that the average person might even overlook. This passion is contagious so watch the movie.