'An Unlikely Weapon' is a documentary film about famed photographer Eddie Adams.

The film was shown a couple weeks ago in New York and is now in its final days of screening in L.A. (through the 28th at Arclight Sherman Oaks, 6360 West Sunset Blvd.). It is directed by Susan Morgan Cooper, cinematography and editing by Isaac Hagy, and is narrated by Kiefer Sutherland. Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, Morley Safer, Gordon Parks, Peter Arnett, Bill Eppridge and many others make appearances in the film. The theme of the movie was built around the power of a photograph. In Eddie Adams' words, "Pictures are a lot more important than a lot of people think. They say it's the written word -- bullshit. It's the picture that does it."

As Sutherland intones, "Eddie Adams photographed 13 wars, six American Presidents and every major film star over the last 50 years." History would be changed through his lens. But the photo that made Eddie famous would haunt him his entire life. In 1968, he photographed a police chief, General Nygoc Loan, shooting a Vietcong guerrilla point blank. The photo brought Eddie fame and a Pulitzer Prize. Eddie felt in taking that photograph (below), he had vilified a decent man.



Hal Buell, former Photo Director of The Associated Press, conducted an extensive interview with Eddie several years ago. This narrative threads throughout the movie. At times, Eddie comes off as gruff and irascible, but to those who knew him, this exterior is just a front for a sensitive and compassionate man. Sam Garcia, of Nikon, explains that Eddie had the ability to speak to both coal miners and kings with an ease that disarms and allows access to their own personalities. One of the most enlightening passages of the film is Eddie describing his photo session with Cuban Leader Fidel Castro.

I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to become friends with Eddie. He had an innate ability to get to the truth of the matter, no matter the surroundings. He was most proud of his photography on the Vietnamese boat refugees who drifted aimlessly in Southeast Asian waters. These photos were instrumental in the American government opening its shores to hundreds of thousands of war refugees.

Two decades ago, in 1988, Eddie started Barnstorm: The Eddie Adams Workshop. This tuition-free workshop accepts one hundred of the best new photographers worldwide, based solely on the strength of their photo portfolios. Photo industry leaders donate their time each fall as they descend upon Sullivan County in New York's Catskill Mountains for an intense and informative workshop. Even though Eddie died in 2004, the workshop lives on. In my opinion, this is his greatest legacy.

The documentary 'An Unlikely Weapon' provides an insightful glimpse of a complex man.