A diverse look at a niche I didn't know was so cool! Looks at so many unknown aspects of how the typewriter manifests itself in the current world, from collections, to repair shops to making music from them. This documentary is not just about the typewriter but about people and progress in a technological age.

I was expecting something a little more than this so perhaps it's my fault.I got about 15 minutes into it and that was enough. I was expecting some some of story, a thread. I love programs about writers, artists, musicians, creativity but this didn't hit the mark (maybe it did later on, I dunno), it was about the 'lure' of the typewriter and although I started writing on a typewriter back in the day, the begining just did not grab, hold, entice or excite.I did watch a super doc on pinball machines, docs aren't a problem, so in spite of my interest in artistic and creative endeavours, perhaps typewriters just don't cut it for me. Maybe they will for you.

One of the big reasons that "California Typewriter" showed up on my radar was likely because I happened to be reading a book at the same time called "Revenge of Analog". That book describes a movement back towards things such as records, paper, board games, and other physical (not digital) forms of leisure and commerce. That is the main theme of "California Typewriter" too...only focusing on the device listed in the title.This documentary basically focuses on a number of different human interest stories involving a piece of technology largely thought "obsolete": the typewriter. From Tom Hanks' typewriter collection to the actual California Typewriter story, to a sculpture artist and and a collector looking for his coup de grace (and even a little history thrown in), this doc attacks the typewriter's story from nearly every angle.Even above the human stories, though, is the notion present throughout the entire doc of that "return to analog" of sorts. As technology marches on, sometimes we don't stop to evaluate whether the physical experience of creation needs to take a back seat to the ease of creation. Don't get me wrong...I'm not exchanging my iPhone for a flip phone, nor am I turning in my MacBook for a desktop PC. I'm no Luddite. But it is a fascinating idea for me (old enough to remember a time before the Internet and mobile everything)...this notion that sometimes, say, the act of typing something on a physical device might be more satisfying than the ease of a word processor.So, even though I'm not really "into" typewriters (I can honestly say I've never used one in my life!), I can say that this doc fascinated me and connected with me on a nostalgic, but also intellectual level. A return to analog devices may not be for everyone, but docs like this prove that the newest technology may not be for everyone, either. There is room for both, and even a mixture of both.

Who knew Tom Hanks would be type cast. He is among the most normal people in this unique typewriter fetish movie. The title refers to an office product store in Berkley California that does everything typewriters. There are plenty of talking heads on the virtues and creativity that spring from the use of a typewriter over a digital device.There are plenty of slightly askew typewriter lovers, mostly men who are enthusiastic over the keys and the bells. There is actually a musical group that plays songs on their typewriters. The history, origins, demise and perhaps an optimistic future are all presented in this a bit long documentary.If you like interesting non political, non controversial documentaries check this out. It's in limited release but with finding.