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Helvetica – the movie
December 12, 2007
For several months I have been reading the buzz about sold-out theatrical performances of
Helvetica – it’s a feature-length documentary film by Gary Hustwit. Since it won’t be showing in a theater near me anytime soon, I bought the DVD and watched it on my home TV.
It seemed almost impossible to me that a 95-minute documentary about a type face could be compelling cinema, but it is interesting – even a non-type-nut could enjoy it.
Helvetica, the movie, is a beautifully-filmed set of interviews and street scenes about the most common of all type fonts. Helvetica is everywhere! I am impressed by the quality of the interviews, some with people who fawn over Helvetica, others with people who despise it. It really is an informative film.
Erik Spiekermann is a prolific type designer. His interview in Helvetica is my favorite.
Photo captured from the DVD of Helvetica, the movie.
The interview I enjoy most is of Erik Spiekermann, himself an accomplished type designer. Spiekermann does nothing to supress his disdain for Helvetica, and comments that it’s like air – we have to breathe, and air is our only choice for that purpose. He adds a comment that the only thing worse than Helvetica is Arial, which tries to copy Helvetica, and does it badly. On this point I heartily agree. To Paula Scher, a graphic designer interviewed in the film, the font represents all that was evil in the Viet Nam war era – the military-industrial complex type font!
And, it is the fact that
most people have an opinion about Helvetica and its low-grade copies that made the Hustwit documentary possible. Imagine trying to get 95 minutes of commentary about Bembo or Garamond* or any of the thousands of other type fonts in existence!
Mike Parker was Linotype's Director of Typographic Products for many years. He speaks with great fondness of Helvetica in his interview. You can see his enthusiasm about Helvetica in this scene – he's describing how the interior spaces work so well, and he makes a compelling argument.
Photo captured from the DVD of Helvetica, the movie.
The film is made complete by its diverse interviews with many of type’s most important people including Matthew Carter, Mike Parker, Hermann Zapf, Jonathan Hoefler, and a host of others. At the very least, it’s good to see interviews with these men and women. It helps to put faces and voices to the names that show up in our software menus every day.
Helvetica, the font, can be boring or breathtaking. Helvetica, the movie, can be the same depending on your perspective. I think it’s a good thing for all of us in graphic arts to see, because it will open our eyes to the impact of a seemingly insignificant thing on so much of our world.
Make some popcorn, and pop Helvetica, the movie, into your DVD player! (It’s available from
Netflix).
* I might concede on Garamond
Posted by Brian Lawler on December 12, 2007 | Comments (0)
