Review of Manufactured Landscapes (2006) by Adam W — 16 Sep 2008

Edward Burtynsky's photographs are some of the most spectacular out there. Manufactured Landscapes, while at times a bit slow, manages to give us an excellent idea of just how spectacular. Following Burtynsky as he travels to China, it documents him as he visits various industrial centers, from massive assembly lines (which open the film, in the form of a ten minute near constant dolly shot) to a shipyard that stretches for miles, to a small village that breaks apart computers for recycling.

The finished photos are shown often fully zoomed in one something in the distance, in perfect picture quality, before zooming out to reveal just how far away that image was. Somehow he managed to fit into a picture literally everything he sees, and manages to make all of it clearly visible if you look closely enough.