June 20, 2007
Manufactured Landscapes, the Film
A film following photographer Edward Burtynsky through the making of his recent project Manufactured Landscapes opens today in New York. This is director Jennifer Baichwal's second documentary covering a photographer. She also directed The True Meaning of Pictures on Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia. The word invariably used to describe this film is haunting... and indeed it is. I look forward to seeing how she has covered Burtynsky.
Online resources: the trailer, the press kit (complete with nice big 300 dpi images, Times review, the DVD
to this site
06/20/07 06:55 PM
Nolan Smock said...
There were parts of this movie that gave me carpal tunnel. Seriously.
06/20/07 08:48 PM
Davin said...
It's quite good. You also get to see Burtynsky making the cover image of his China book among others. The film is primarily about his shoots in China except for a detour to the ship-breaking "yards" in Bangladesh.
I think my only complaint, and it's not an overly strong one, is that occasionally there is fairly low quality video footage used but it's pretty are.
The opening tracking shot is pretty wild showing the vast scale of the factory spaces he shot in.
The film is also a scary primer for anyone who doesn't yet know of the boggling environmental shifts happening in the rapidly industrializing and urbanizing China.
06/28/07 12:13 PM
Michael David Murphy said...
That Shelby Lee Adams' doc was new to me. Thanks for the tip. Watched it last night.