An Unlikely Weapon (2008)

In 1968, in 1/500th of a second Eddie Adams photographed a Saigon police chief, General Nygoc Loan, shooting a Vietcong guerrilla point black. Some say that photograph ended the Vietnam war... See full summary »

Director:

Susan Morgan Cooper

Writer:

Susan Morgan Cooper (screenplay)

Stars:

Eddie Adams, Marc Anthony, Peter Arnett

Cast

Credited cast:
Eddie Adams	...	Himself
Marc Anthony	...	Himself
Peter Arnett	...	Himself
Tom Brokaw	...	Himself
Bill Clinton	...	Himself
Bill Eppridge	...	Himself
Peter Jennings	...	Himself
Kerry Kennedy	...	Herself
David Hume Kennerly	...	Himself
Gordon Parks	...	Himself
Thi Kim Phuc Phan	...	Herself
Morley Safer	...	Himself
Rod Steiger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Narrator
Tracey Ullman	...	Herself

Storyline

In 1968, in 1/500th of a second Eddie Adams photographed a Saigon police chief, General Nygoc Loan, shooting a Vietcong guerrilla point black. Some say that photograph ended the Vietnam war. The photo brought Eddie fame and a Pulitzer, but Eddie was haunted by the man he had vilified. He would say, "Two lives were destroyed that day, the victim's and the general." Other's would say three lives were destroyed. Eddie Adams, like most artists, was tortured by his need for perfection. Nothing he did ever satisfied him. He carved out many careers shooting covers for Life, Time, and even Penthouse. Yet, somehow, he was always pulled back into documenting wars, 13 all together. Finally he hit the wall and couldn't take it anymore. He began shooting celebrities because "It doesn't take anything from you." Eddie was comfortable with kings and coal miners. During his time with Parade magazines he photographed Clint Eastwood, Louis Armstrong, Mother Teresa, and Pope John Paul.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | pulitzer prize | photojournalist | camera | three word title | 

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Taglines:

1/500th of a second to get the shot...a lifetime to forget it

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morgan Cooper Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

User Reviews

Stunning - A must see

I saw this at the Fort Lauderdale film festival and it jumped into my soul. It's about as compelling a guy as you can find but the story telling is pitch perfect as well. It took fifteen minutes for me to decompress on my own outside the cinema. Very powerful stuff. I then had the joy of seeing it again at the Santa Fe film festival and second time it hit me as hard. It is for me one of the two best things I saw last year, the other being Man on Wire. When are fiction films going to live up to the standard of the best of their non fiction siblings. Bear in mind Man on Wire beat Slumdog Millionaire for the Best British Film Award at the British Academy Awards this year.

Please go see this film as you won't regret it.