6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Helvetica is the feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface, which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007, as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day.
Director: Gary HustwitDocumentary | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, German
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Gary Hustwit's Helvetica (2007) is undoubtedly one of the most unique films to enter the Blu-ray market thus far. Informative, well researched, and expertly produced this terrific documentary should encourage other distribs to follow Plexifilm in their admirable efforts to popularize non-mainstream cinema amongst mainstream audiences.
A documentary about the history of typography on Blu-ray probably isn’t what many expected to see this early into the format’s life cycle but I certainly could not be any happier. In a sea of commercial blockbusters the majors have given us it is so refreshing to see that there are smaller distribs out there that aren’t afraid to experiment and carefully make a point that a Blu-ray treatment could be just as effective for a budget indi-film. And, yes, we do notice when such releases appear on the market.
Simple yet elegant
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-2, and granted a 1080p transfer Helvetica arrives on Blu-ray via Plexifilm. The presentation is solid. Shot with an HD camera the film reveals a well balanced look where sharpness, detail, and clarity are all well maintained. There are numerous interviews here with specific examples revealing the technical characteristics of Helvetica. During such detail is particularly impressive allowing the viewer to see a great deal of what a standard-definition release would omit (contour, nuanced bolding, paper grain, etc). Contrast on the other hand is at a consistently high level and I certainly did not notice anything that one should be concerned with. This being said, Helvetica does reveal some artifacting which becomes noticeable during selected scenes but given the technical limitations of the original stock (indeed, this is a low budget documentary) I must conclude that this is very much a byproduct that has little to do, if anything, with the manner in which the film has been transferred to Blu-ray.
Helvetica arrives on Blu-ray with an English DD 2.0 track. As this is primarily a dialog-driven feature the inclusion of the above mentioned track should not surprise anyone. The documentary does not offer any elaborate sound effects and obviously the English DD 2.0 track compliments the basic dialog perfectly well. This being said, everything appears to be handled perfectly by thy producers of Helvetica as I did not detect any pop-ups, cracks, or hissings. Finally, I certainly understand that some may be rather unimpressed by the basic treatment but suffice to say this particular film does not necessitate more than what is already on the BD. Optional English and German subtitles are provided.
The high-definition release of Helvetica offers the same supplemental materials found on the SDVD. There is a massive collage of interviews here addressing in depth a lot of the issues the main feature focuses on. Certainly a lot of these commentaries add substantially more to what different parties have already stated in the documentary while at the same time adding a bit more to a few selected sub-topics as well (consumerism, contemporary advertising, mass perception, etc). Indeed, all of the interviews provided in this section are an excellent opportunity for those who wish to delve even deeper into the main subject to do so.
A terrific low-budget documentary has found its way to Blu-ray and those of us who look for variety in a sea of commercial releases are certainly pleased to see the direction Plexifilm have decided to explore with their presentation of Helvetica. I found this film to be incredibly well-done and informative. Its subject matter is unusual but treated with a deserving amount of attention I believe casual viewers will appreciate. The actual presentation is solid and without any issues that should prevent you from adding Helvetica to your collections.
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