Manufactured Landscapes
(DVD) 

Originally produced as a Canadian documentary film in 2006.

Special features: Additional scenes [featurette with optional director's commentary] (40 min.); Al Gore - Nashville Film Festival 2007 [featurette] (9 min.); Discussion with the director [Baichwal] and Edward Burtynsky [featurette] (19 min.); Mini-interview with cinematographer/collaborator [Peter Mettler] [featurette] (5 min.); Theatrical trailer (2 min.); Stills gallery with commentary by Burtynsky [slide show].

Director of photography + creative consultant, Peter Mettler ; editor, Roland Schlimme ; original music, Dan Driscoll.

Edward Burtynsky, commentator.

This is a striking new documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of "manufactured landscapes"--Quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams -- Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization's materials and debris. He argues that we have reached past the point now where we are at the mercy of the environment -- our planet now lives and dies at our mercy. This is not meant to be a frightening concept, though many of the images are sobering, in this chilling but ultimately beautiful documentary on what industrialization is doing to man and the world as we know it. Or used to know it. Manufactured Landscapes tells the story of these images, and how Burtynsky came to be so fascinated with the concept of human design. The film follows him through China, as he shoots the evidence and effects of that country's massive industrial revolution, showing us a glimpse of what it's like behind the scenes for a famous photographer in action. With breathtaking sequences, such as the opening tracking shot through an almost endless factory, the filmmakers also extend the narratives of Burtynsky's photographs, allowing us to meditate on our impact on the planet and witness both the epicenters of industrial endeavor and the dumping grounds of its waste

DVD; Region 1, NTSC; Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, 2.0 stereo sound; widescreen presentation preserving the theatrical aspect ratio, 1.85:1, enhanced for widescreen televisions.

In English and Chinese, with optional subtitles in English for the hard-of-hearing.

Winner, 2007 Genie Award [Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Awards] for Best Documentary: Jennifer Baichwal, Nick de Pencier, Gerry Flahive, Daniel Iron, Peter Starr.