Watermark [0] and The Anthropocene[1] are both phenomenal. In fact, in terms of cinematography, I think Watermark is the best. Manufactured Landscapes was absolutely earth-shattering in my own consideration of humans and our ecologies though.
If you find yourself liking Burtynsky may I also suggest checking out Richard Misrach and the classic book of Manfred Hamm photography, Dead Tech [2].
(We'd be remiss to leave out the contributions of Jennifer Baichwal to all three films and Nicholas de Pencier on The Anthropocene.)
Burtynsky's environmental trilogy is worth exploring in full: Manufactured Landscapes (2006), Watermark (2013), and Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (2018).
There's a fantastic documentary about Burtynsky's work, Manufactured Landscapes. I highly recommend it, even if you just watch the opening. https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/projects/films/manufactured-...
It's actually the first in what became a series!
Watermark [0] and The Anthropocene[1] are both phenomenal. In fact, in terms of cinematography, I think Watermark is the best. Manufactured Landscapes was absolutely earth-shattering in my own consideration of humans and our ecologies though.
If you find yourself liking Burtynsky may I also suggest checking out Richard Misrach and the classic book of Manfred Hamm photography, Dead Tech [2].
(We'd be remiss to leave out the contributions of Jennifer Baichwal to all three films and Nicholas de Pencier on The Anthropocene.)
[0] https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/projects/films/watermark
[1] https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/projects/films/anthropocene-...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Tech-Guide-Archaeology-Tomorrow/... (Only linked to Amazon because people have posted images)
Burtynsky's environmental trilogy is worth exploring in full: Manufactured Landscapes (2006), Watermark (2013), and Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (2018).
All three available to stream on Prime Video
The whole movie is available on Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/ManufacturedLandscapes_201902
Link to the show at the International Center of Photography (NYC): https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/edward-burtynsky-great-accel...
Petapixel article with more photos and commentary: https://petapixel.com/2025/06/24/photographer-edward-burtyns...
https://archive.ph/hTj6w
http://web.archive.org/web/20250713051005/https://www.newyor...
The first picture must be these windmills that ruin the landscape. /s