Publication date 1978 Topics newspaper, linotype, typesetting

(1978) 30m, dir. David Loeb Weiss. On July 2, 1978, the last hot lead edition of the New York Times rolled off the presses. Weiss, a proofreader for the Times, documented the phasing out of this historical process, and what impresses us now, beyond the Ludlow machine (which casts the lead at 535 degrees), the Linotype machine (operated for the last time by Carl Schlesinger, who also narrates the film), and the presses, is the incredible noise generated by all these people and devices. The process is fascinating and sad, and the new computers seem baleful in the fluorescent lights of the new composing rooms. The film is as much about the passing of the mechanical age as it is about the newspaper biz, as told by those who were there that day...

Addeddate 2015-04-15 15:22:11 Color color Director David Loeb Weiss Identifier FarewellEtaoinShrdlu Run time 28:45 Scanner Internet Archive HTML5 Uploader 1.6.1 Sound sound Year 1978