Documentary Review: ‘Steve Schapiro: Being Everywhere’

by | Nov 13, 2025 | Featured Post, Movie Reviews, Movies | 0 comments


Greetings again from the darkness. Historians record events for future generations. We tend to think of history as what we read on the page in books, yet it’s the photographers who often bring those words to life – delivering visuals that hit home and make the past so memorable. Few photographers have done it better or for a longer period of time or across a more diverse cross-section than photojournalist Steve Schapiro.

Maura Smith, Schapiro’s wife of 40 years (until his death in 2022 at age 87) has crafted a loving documentary and tribute to him, while also conveying what an incredibly interesting life he led. She put her charming husband on camera and let him tell the stories associated with his photographs. This is a man entrenched in movie stills, movie posters, celebrity and VIP portraits, and the Civil Rights Movement … including the March on Washington and the Selma to Montgomery march. His photographs were published in all the major magazines (often on the cover) of the times, and his movie work included such films as MIDNIGHT COWBOY, THE GODFATHER, CHINATOWN, and TAXI DRIVER (to name a few). Schapiro even sits on the white sofa that was used for sessions during RISKY BUSINESS and FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF.

Many of the faces from his work are easily recognizable: James Baldwin, Andy Warhol, David Bowie, Barbara Streisand, Muhammad Ali – plus musicians such as Frank Zappa, The Velvet Underground, Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra. It’s fascinating to listen as Schapiro recounts some of his freelance assignments, and his time with Bobby Kennedy is especially detailed and interesting … in fact his memories about the Civil Rights Movement are what elevate his work. His after-the-tragedy recollections of going through the Lorraine Hotel after Martin Luther King’s assassination are gut-wrenching. Schapiro states that the perfect photograph is a blend of emotion, design, and information … much like his life.

Opens in NYC on November 14, 2025 and then rolls out nationwide

David Ferguson
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