Loading
Helvetica
Typography, Graphic Design and Global Visual Culture
Genres
Documentary
Overview
Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
80 min
Release Date
2007-09-12
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
167
Vote Average
7.2
Cast
Meet the talented actors who bring the movie to life.
Michael Bierut
Himself
Neville Brody
Himself
David Carson
Himself
Manfred Schulz
Himself
Massimo Vignelli
Himself
Rick Poynor
Himself
Wim Crouwel
Himself
Matthew Carter
Himself
Alfred Hoffmann
Himself
Mike Parker
Himself
Otmar Hoefer
Himself
Bruno Steinert
Himself
Hermann Zapf
Himself
Leslie Savan
Herself
Tobias Frere-Jones
Himself
Jonathan Hoefler
Himself
Erik Spiekermann
Himself
Lars Müller
Himself
Paula Scher
Herself
Stefan Sagmeister
Himself
Erwin Brinkers
Himself
Marieke Stolk
Herself
Danny van den Dungen
Himself
Michael C. Place
Himself
Manuel Krebs
Himself
Dimitri Bruni
Himself
Similar Movies
Explore movies similar to this one that you might also enjoy.
0.0
Toypunks
Toypunks is a documentary film series covering the converging world of Japanese toys, fashion and punk rock. Exploring the birth of the designer vinyl explosion from its roots in character culture and punk music, Toypunks takes you in-depth with Japanese fashion icon, Hikaru Iwanaga, creator of the worlds first designer toy. Frank Kozik, Hiddy Kinoshita of Secret Base, Balzac, Three Tides Tattoo and more are interviewed highlighting profound cross-cultural connections between todays top creative talents in toys and fashion.
2008-05-27 | en
6.5
Generation Sputnik
From 1957 —the year in which the Soviets put the Sputnik 1 satellite into orbit— to 1969 —when American astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the surface of the moon—, the beginnings of the space conquest were depicted in popular culture: cinema, television, comics and literature of the time contain numerous references to an imagined future.
2016-12-01 | de
10.0
Pitch People
The art of the "pitch" and its role in society, as told by many of the pitch industry's greatest salesmen, including Arnold Morris, Sandy Mason, Lester Morris, Wally Nash and Ed McMahon as well as a look at the Popeil family.
1999-10-22 | en
8.2
Greetings From Planet Smurf
The Smurfs were created in 1958 by the Belgian comic author Peyo (Pierre Culliford, 1928-1992) and they are one of Belgium's most recognized exports. From Brussels to Los Angeles, via Dubai, a journey into the tiny world of the famous little blue people, from the story of the creation of the original comic to the account of their huge global commercial exploitation.
2018-06-08 | fr
8.0
Étienne Robial, un spécimen de caractère(s)
Documentary on the French graphic and visual artist and designer, editor, artistic director, and teacher who is known for his widely-used fonts.
2023-05-17 | fr
0.0
Behind the Screens, Hollywood Goes Hypercommercial
Hollywood movies are rapidly becoming vehicles for the ulterior marketing and advertising motives of studios and their owners, rather than entertainment in their own right. Behind the Screens explores this trend toward "hypercommercialism" through phenomena such as product placement, tie-ins, merchandising and cross-promotions. It combines multiple examples taken directly from the movies with incisive interviews provided by film scholars, cultural critics, political economists, and an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. Behind the Screens presents an accessible argument designed for school and college-age audiences-- precisely the demographic most prized by both Hollywood studios and advertisers alike. It features examples drawn from movies such as Wayne's World, Forrest Gump, The Lion King, Summer of Sam, and Toy Story.
2000-01-01 | en
7.6
The Corporation
Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.
2003-09-10 | en
6.7
Saul Bass: Title Champ
Set to a bebop jazz beat, this documentary brings to life the extraordinary work of graphic designer Saul Bass, whose groundbreaking title sequences for Hitchcock's films transformed the art of movie titles. Through interviews with directors such as Martin Scorsese and Guillermo del Toro, this film reveals why Bass is still considered the medium's greatest artist.
2008-10-07 | en
6.9
Art & Copy
The personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of all time and the stories behind their campaigns.
2009-08-21 | en
7.3
The Atomic Cafe
A disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
1982-03-17 | en
7.5
Hanzi
Hanzi is a documentary exploring international design, visual culture, and identity through the lens of modern Chinese typography. The film covers a variety of topics such as how languages shape identity, and what role handwriting plays in the digital age.
2017-05-21 | zh
7.0
Graphic Means: A History of Graphic Design Production
Up until just over 30 years ago, when the desktop computer debuted, the whole design production process would have been done primarily by hand, and with the aide of analog machines. The design and print industries used a variety of ways to get type and image onto film, plates, and finally to the printed page. Graphic Means is a journey through this transformative Mad Men-era of pre-digital design production to the advent of the desktop computer. It explores the methods, tools, and evolving social roles that gave rise to the graphic design industry as we know it today.
2017-04-15 | en
8.0
The History of Typography
A short, educational animation about the history of fonts and typography. In a paper cutout stop-motion style, it begins with Gutenberg's creation of the first typeface, travels through the innovations of Jenson, Caslon, and Bodoni, to the modern creation of Futura and the democratization of fonts in the digital age. A charming, engaging film about a technology that is all around us, but few people know much about.
2013-05-24 | en
6.4
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement that is financed and made possible by brands, advertising and product placement.
2011-04-22 | en
5.0
Juzo Itami: The Man with 13 Faces
A documentary about the legendary Japanese filmmaker.
2007-01-01 | ja
4.0
HU
A symmetrically divided building: on one side, an important public hospital, on the other, a bewildering ruin. On the horizon, Rio de Janeiro, public health, education and Brazil’s aged modern project. Shot entirely in the monumental and only partially occupied modernist edifice of the University Hospital of UFRJ. A material metaphor of the Brazilian public sphere and its political maze. A synthesis architecturally expressed of the modernist utopia/dystopia.
2012-01-27 | pt
7.5
The Gutenberg Enigma
A portrait of the inventor of the letterpress, who was a key figure in the history of mankind, but also an enthusiastic inventor, a daring businessman, a tenacious troublemaker: the life of Johannes Gutenberg (circa 1400-68).
2017-09-25 | fr
7.3
Urbanized
A documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world's foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.
2011-09-09 | en
7.0
Un chico de portada: el arte de Macario Gómez
Macario 'Mac' Gómez talks about his long career as a film poster designer.
2012-10-06 | es
6.2
Programming the Nation?
Programming the Nation? takes an encompassing look at the history of subliminal messaging in America. According to many authorities, since the late 1950s subliminal content has been tested and delivered through all forms of mass-media including Hollywood filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and William Friedkin. Even our modern military has been accused of these practices in the "war on terror" against soldiers and civilians both abroad and at home. With eye-opening footage, revealing interviews, humorous anecdotes, and an array of visual effects, the film categorically explores the alleged usage of subliminals in advertising, music, film, television, anti-theft devices, political propaganda, military psychological operations, and advanced weapons development. Director Jeff Warrick makes it his personal mission to determine if these manipulative tactics have succeeded in "programming the nation?" Or, if subliminal messaging belongs in the category of what many consider urban legend.
2011-08-19 | en