Linotype: The Film Linotype: The Film

A feature-length documentary centered around the Linotype typecasting machine. Called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by Thomas Edison, it revolutionized printing and society. The film tells the surprisingly emotional story of the people connected to the Linotype and how it impacted the world.

documentary

75 mins   More details at IMDb / TMDb

Recent reviews

More
  • Ben Oliver

    Review by Ben Oliver ★★★★

    This film takes an in depth look into a specific subject (or object, in this case) and, without trying, provides some insight into our society as a whole. I was fascinated from beginning to end, and couldn't have asked for more.

    It's not for everyone, but it's not pretending to be anything other than a documentary about the Linotype machine, and I have to respect that.

  • Philip Kennedy

    Review by Philip Kennedy ★★★

    Enjoyable documentary about Linotype and an unintentional study of American facial hair.

  • Adam Schoales

    Review by Adam Schoales ★★★★

    A fascinating look at a dying industry. As someone who has always been fascinated by typography this film was right in my wheel house.

    A perfect companion piece to Gary Hustwit's Helvetica, Linotype: The Film takes a look at the history of the company, it's creators, and how it revolutionized the print industry. It also looks at the modern day designers who still use the Linotype to this day despite the prevalence of newer (and perhaps technically superior) options.

    While the use of an outdated anachronistic machine may seem a bit "hipster", it's tough to deny the beautiful results it produces. This film is a love letter not only to the machine, and it's results, but also to the people…

  • Marcin Wichary

    Review by Marcin Wichary ★★★★½

    What does being obsolete really mean? There were apparently more than 100,000 Linotype machines produced – many the price of a house – but only about a thousand survived, a lot of them rusting, broken, forgotten, or about to be sent as scrap to China. Linotype was once the hot technology that revolutionized printing (literally hot – the machines construct lead type by squirting molten alloys), but the best stories about technology are always stories about people, and this fantastic documentary knows that surprisingly well.

    We meet here an 86-year-old deaf Linotype operator, apparently the fastest in the world. And someone who wrote a song about it. And a guy who recently started the… Linotype University. And a volunteer at…