Frame 150 from the Zapruder Film

The Zapruder film is a silent 8 mm color home movie of the presidential motorcade of John F. Kennedy through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, shot by a private citizen named Abraham Zapruder. The film is the most complete visual recording of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Abraham Zapruder Abraham Zapruder (May 15, 1905 – August 30, 1970), a manufacturer of womens clothing, filmed U.S. President John F. Kennedys motorcade traveling through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas and unexpectedly recorded the entire John F. Kennedy assassination. ... Zapruder film frame 150 The Zapruder Family still own the copyright for this film so: This work is copyrighted. ... Zapruder film frame 150 The Zapruder Family still own the copyright for this film so: This work is copyrighted. ... This article is about the 8 mm film format. ... Home Movies is a dialogue-driven animated series about 8-year-old Brendon Small (voiced by the creator, head writer, and lead musician of Home Movies Brendon Small), who makes films with his friends, Melissa and Jason, in his spare time. ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ... Dealey Plaza (Warren Commission exhibit #876) Dealey Plaza (IPA pronunciation: ), in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA), is infamous as the location of the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ... Abraham Zapruder Abraham Zapruder (May 15, 1905 – August 30, 1970), a manufacturer of womens clothing, filmed U.S. President John F. Kennedys motorcade traveling through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas and unexpectedly recorded the entire John F. Kennedy assassination. ... President Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and Texas Governor John Connally in the presidential limousine just moments before his assassination The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p. ... John Kennedy and JFK redirect here. ...

Background

Zapruder filmed the Presidential motorcade while being steadied by his receptionist, Marilyn Sitzman, standing on top of the most western of the two concrete pedestals that extend from the John Neely Bryan north pergola concrete structure overlooking Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas at 12:30 pm Central Standard Time, November 22, 1963. The film depicts the assassination from the time that the presidential limousine had rounded the corner from Houston Street until it passed out of view under a railway overpass. Of greatest notoriety is the film's depiction of a fatal shot to President Kennedy's head when his limousine was almost exactly in front of and slightly below Zapruder's position. Marilyn Sitzman (14 December 1939 – 11 August 1993, Dallas, Texas) was a witness to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. ... John Neely Bryan (December 24, 1810 – September 8, 1877) was a presbyterian farmer, laywer, and tradesman in the United States and founder of the city of Dallas, Texas. ... Dealey Plaza (Warren Commission exhibit #876) Dealey Plaza (IPA pronunciation: ), in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA), is infamous as the location of the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963. ... Dallas redirects here. ... For other uses, see Texas (disambiguation). ...  CST or UTC-6 The Central Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC during standard time (UTC-6) and five hours during daylight saving time (UTC-5). ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ...

Zapruder filmed the scene with a Model 414 PD Bell & Howell Zoomatic Director Series Camera that operated via a spring-wound mechanism. The FBI later tested Zapruder's camera and found that it filmed an average of 18.3 frames per second. The entire film sequence depicting events in Dealey Plaza consists of 486 frames, or 26.6 seconds. The presidential limousine can be seen in 343 of the frames, or 18.7 seconds. The film is recorded on Kodak Kodachrome II 8 mm movie safety film (double 8mm, 16mm width). Categories: Corporation stubs ... Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) is a large multinational public company producing photographic equipment. ... Kodachrome is the trademarked name of a brand of color reversal film sold by Eastman Kodak. ... Photographic film called safety film is made with an acetate base, chemically either cellulose diacetate, cellulose acetate propiarate, cellulose acetate butyrate, or cellulose triacetate. ...

The film has been examined by the Warren Commission and all subsequent investigations into the assassination. The Zapruder frames used by the Warren Commission were published in black and white as Commission Exhibit 885 in volume XVIII of the Hearings and Exhibits.^[1] Frames of the film have also been published in several magazines, and the film was featured in several movies. Copies of the complete film are available on the Internet.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Warren Commission report cover page The Presidents Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as The Warren Commission, was established on November 29, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. ... Assassin and Assassins redirect here. ...

In 1994, the Zapruder film footage was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for permanent preservation in the National Film Registry. Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ...

Other films of the assassination

Zapruder's film is the most complete movie of the assassination, as it depicts a relatively clear view of the motorcade from a somewhat elevated position. No extant film shows clearly the critical portion of the infamous "grassy knoll" from which many claim shots were fired, and none depict better detail of the presidential limousine than the Zapruder film. However, it is not the only film depicting the presidential limousine on Elm Street. There are films and still photographs taken by at least 32 photographers in Dealey Plaza at or around the time of the shooting,^[7] including: F. Mark Bell, Charles Bronson (not the actor with the same name), Malcolm Couch, Elsie Dorman, Robert J. E. Hughes, John Martin, Charles Mentesana, Marie Muchmore, Orville Nix, Patsy Paschall, and Tina Towner, along with an unidentified "Babushka lady." The films by Orville Nix, Marie Muchmore, and Charles Bronson depict the fatal head shot seen in the Zapruder film, and the films of Bronson and Hughes show the open sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository.^[8] Dealey Plaza (Warren Commission exhibit #876) Dealey Plaza, (pronounced deal-ee) in Dallas, Texas, United States, is famous as the location of the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963. ... For other persons named Charles Bronson, see Charles Bronson (disambiguation). ... The Babushka Lady is a nickname for an unknown woman who might have filmed the presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza during the John F. Kennedy assassination. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Marie M. Muchmore (5 August 1909, Ardmore, Oklahoma – 26 April 1990, Dallas, Texas)[1] was one of the witnesses to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. ...

On February 19, 2007, a film shot by George Jefferies was released.^{[citation needed]} This color 8mm film, taken on Main Street in Dallas approximately 90 seconds before the shooting, has the best view of Jackie Kennedy in the motorcade and the positions of the Secret Service agents before the shooting, and also clearly shows that President Kennedy's suit coat was bunched up around the neckline. This fact would seem to repudiate theories identifying the mismatch between the wound in the President's back and the holes in his suit and shirt as evidence that more than three shots were fired. [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... “Jacqueline Bouvier” redirects here. ...

History

Three copies of the Zapruder film were made on the afternoon of November 22. Zapruder retained the original and one copy, and gave the other two copies to the Dallas office of the Secret Service for their investigation. Within three days, Life magazine (owned by Time Inc.) purchased the original film and all rights to it for $150,000 (equivalent to $916,000 in 2006), payable in six annual payments of $25,000. Zapruder donated the initial payment of $25,000 to the widow and children of murdered Dallas policeman J.D. Tippit. USSS redirects here. ... Philippe Halsmans famous portrait of Marilyn Monroe Life generally refers to two American magazines: A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936; A publication created by Time founder Henry Luce in 1936, with a strong emphasis on photojournalism. ... Time Inc. ... J.D. Tippit J. D. Tippit (September 18, 1924 – November 22, 1963) was a police officer with the Dallas, Texas Police Department who, according to witnesses, was slain by Lee Harvey Oswald after Tippit stopped Oswald following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ...

The November 29, 1963 issue of Life published about 30 frames of the Zapruder film in black and white. Frames were also published in color in the December 7, 1963 special "John F. Kennedy Memorial Edition", and in issues dated October 2, 1964 (a special article on the film and the Warren Commission report), November 25, 1966, and November 24, 1967. Warren Commission report cover page The Presidents Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as The Warren Commission, was established on November 29, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. ...

In October 1964, the U.S. Government Printing Office released 26 volumes of testimony and evidence compiled by the Warren Commission. Volume 18 of the Commission's Hearings reproduced 158 frames of the Zapruder film in black and white. However, frames 208–211 were missing, and a splice was visible in frames 207 and 212. In early 1967, Life released a statement that four frames of the camera original had been accidentally destroyed, and the adjacent frames damaged, by Life photo lab technicians. Life released the missing frames from the first-generation copy it had received from Zapruder with the original. (Frames 155–157 and 341 were also damaged in the camera original, but are present in the first-generation copies.) The logotype of the United States Government Printing Office In the United States, the Government Printing Office (GPO) provides printed (and now electronic) copies of documents produced by and for all federal agencies, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, and all executive branch agencies like the FCC and EPA. Court...

In 1966, Josiah Thompson, while working for Life, tried to negotiate with Life for the rights to print important individual frames in his book, Six Seconds in Dallas. Life refused to approve the use of any of the frames, even after Thompson offered to give all profits from the book sales to Life. When Thompson's book was published in 1967, it included very detailed charcoal drawings of important individual frames, plus photo reproductions of the four missing frames. Time Inc. filed a lawsuit against Thompson and his publishing company for copyright infringement. A U.S. District Court ruled in 1968 that the Time Inc. copyright of the Zapruder film had not been violated by invoking the doctrine of fair use. The court held that "there is a public interest in having the fullest information available on the murder of President Kennedy. Thompson did serious work on the subject and has a theory entitled to public consideration … [I]t has been found that the copying by defendants was fair and reasonable."^[9] The Cathach of St. ... For fair use in trademark law, see Fair use (US trademark law). ...

In 1968, Life magazine hired a New Jersey film lab, Technical Animations, to make a 35mm film copy of the original Zapruder film. The lab made several copies, giving the best to Life and retaining the rejects. Over the next six years, Technical Animations employee Robert Groden used one copy and an optical printer to make versions of the Zapruder film using close-ups and minimizing the camera's shakiness. Simulated 35 mm film with soundtracks _ The outermost strips (on either side) contain the SDDS soundtrack as an image of a digital signal. ... Robert Jacob Groden first became interested in the assassination of JFK in 1964. ...

Prior to the 1969 trial of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw for conspiracy in connection with the assassination, a copy of the film was subpoenaed from Time Inc. by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison for use during the trial. The courtroom showings were the first time it had been shown in public as a film. Unauthorized copies of the film were made from the copy lent for the trial, and were soon being further copied and shown throughout the United States and the rest of the world. NOLA redirects here. ... Clay Shaw Clay Laverne Shaw (March 17, 1913 – August 14, 1974) was a successful businessman in the U.S. city of New Orleans, Louisiana. ... Subpoena Duces Tecum (Latin for: bring with under penalty of punishment). ... Earling Carothers Jim Garrison (November 20, 1921 - October 21, 1992) — who changed his first name to Jim in the early 1960s — was the Democratic District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana from 1962 to 1973. ...

In March 1975, on the ABC late-night television show Good Night America (hosted by Geraldo Rivera), assassination researchers Robert Groden and Dick Gregory presented the first-ever network television showing of the Zapruder home movie. The public's response and outrage to that first television showing quickly led to the forming of the Hart-Schweiker investigation, contributed to the Church Committee Investigation on Intelligence Activities by the United States, and resulted in the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American television network. ... Geraldo redirects here. ... Robert Jacob Groden first became interested in the assassination of JFK in 1964. ... Dick Gregory (1964) Richard Dick Claxton Gregory, (born October 12, 1932) is an African American comedian, social activist, writer, entrepreneur, and nutritionist. ... The Church Committee is the common term referring to the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church (D-ID) in 1975. ... The U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations was established in 1976 to investigate the John F. Kennedy assassination and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ...

In April 1975, in settlement of a royalties suit between Time Inc. and Zapruder's heirs that arose from the ABC showing, Time Inc. sold the original film and its copyright back to the Zapruder family for the token sum of $1. Time Inc. wanted to donate the film to the U.S. government. The Zapruder family initially refused to consent, but in 1978 the family transferred the film to the National Archives and Records Administration for appropriate preservation and safe-keeping, while still retaining ownership of the film and its copyright. Director Oliver Stone paid approximately $85,000 to the Zapruder family for use of the Zapruder film in his motion picture JFK (1991). This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The National Archives building in Washington, DC The United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records. ... William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... JFK is an American film directed by Oliver Stone, first released on December 20, 1991. ...

On October 26, 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed into law the John F. Kennedy Records Collection Act of 1992 (the "JFK Act"), which sought to preserve for historical and governmental purposes all records related to the assassination of President Kennedy. The Act created the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection at the National Archives. The Zapruder film was automatically designated an "assassination record" and therefore became official property of the United States government. When the Zapruder family demanded the return of the original film in 1993 and 1994, National Archives officials refused to comply. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States, serving from 1989 to 1993. ...

On April 24, 1997, the Assassination Records Review Board, which was created by the JFK Act, announced a "Statement of Policy and Intent with Regard to the Zapruder Film". The ARRB re-affirmed that the Zapruder Film is an "assassination record" within the meaning of the JFK Act and directed it to be transferred on August 1, 1998 from its present location in NARA's film collection to the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection maintained by NARA.^[10] As required by law for such a seizure under eminent domain, payment to Zapruder's heirs was attempted. Because the film is unique, the film's value was difficult to ascertain; eventually, following arbitration with the Zapruder heirs, the government purchased the film in 1999 for $16 million. // The 1963 assassination of President Kennedy Congress created the Assassination Records Review Board as “a unique solution to the problem of [government] secrecy” relating to the murder of President Kennedy. ... Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United States is the supreme... Eminent domain (United States), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the inherent power of the state to seize a citizens private property, expropriate property, or rights in property, without the owner...

The Zapruder family retained copyright to the film, which was not seized. In 1997, the film was digitally replicated and restored under license of the Zapruder family. The 1998 documentary Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film shows the history of the film, as well as various versions of the restored film.

In December 1999, the Zapruder family donated the film's copyright to The Sixth Floor Museum, located in the Texas School Book Depository building at Dealey Plaza, along with one of the first-generation copies made on November 22, 1963, and other copies of the film and frame enlargements once held by Life magazine, which had been since returned.^[11] The Zapruder family no longer retains any rights of any kind to the film, which rights are now administered by the Museum. The Sixth Floor Museum is an historic exhibit that examines the life, times, death, and legacy of U.S. President John F. Kennedy within the context of American history. ... Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository is the former name of a seven-floor building located on Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. ... Dealey Plaza (Warren Commission exhibit #876) Dealey Plaza (IPA pronunciation: ), in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA), is infamous as the location of the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963. ...

The relevant history of the film is covered in a book by David Wrone called The Zapruder Film: Reframing JFK's Assassination (2003). Wrone is a professor of history who tracks the "chain of evidence" for the film.

Authenticity

Zapruder testified before the Warren Commission^[12] that the frames published in Commission Exhibit 885 were from the film that he took.

Three other films of part of the assassination (the Orville Nix, Marie Muchmore and Charles Bronson films), together with numerous still photographs, are consistent with the Zapruder film, suggesting that they are all authentic. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Marie M. Muchmore (5 August 1909, Ardmore, Oklahoma – 26 April 1990, Dallas, Texas)[1] was one of the witnesses to the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. ...

In 1998, Roland Zavada, a product engineer from Kodak who led the team that invented Kodakchrome II, studied the film at the behest of the National Archives and concluded that the film was an “in camera original” and that any alleged alterations were not feasible.^[13] Any attempt to create a false "in camera original" by copying Zapruder's film would leave visible artifacts of "image structure constraints of grain; [and] contrast and modulation transfer function losses.…It has no evidence of optical effects or matte work including granularity, edge effects or fringing, [or] contrast buildup."^[14] The National Archives building in Washington, DC The United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records. ...

Abraham Zapruder's Bell & Howell Zoomatic movie camera, in the collection of the US National Archives

Abraham Zapruders camera, in the collection of the US National Archives. ... Abraham Zapruders camera, in the collection of the US National Archives. ...

Does the film provide a complete record?

The Zapruder film has often been seen as a "complete record of the Kennedy assassination". This view is, however, challenged by Max Holland, author of The Kennedy Assassination Tapes, and the professional photographer Johann Rush in a joint editorial piece published by The New York Times on November 22, 2007.^[15] Holland and Rush point out that Zapruder temporarily stopped filming at frame 132, when only police motorcycles were visible. When he resumed filming, frame 133 already shows the presidential motorcade in view. This pause could have great significance for the interpretation of the assassination, Holland and Rush suggest. One of the sources of controversy with the Warren Report has been its difficulty in satisfactorily accounting for the sequencing of the assassination. A specific mystery concerns what happened to the one of Oswald's three shots that missed (and how he came to miss at what was assumed to be close range). Holland and Rush argue that the break in the Zapruder film might conceal a first shot earlier than analysts have hitherto assumed, and point out that in this case a horizontal traffic mast would temporarily have obstructed Oswald's view of his target. In the authors' words, "The film, we realize, does not depict an assassination about to commence. It shows one that had already started." Warren Commission report cover page The Presidents Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as The Warren Commission, was established on November 29, 1963 by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of the U.S. President John F. Kennedy. ...

Cultural effect

The film's 1975 broadcast on Good Night America ignited widespread public distrust in the findings of the Warren Commission. Perhaps the most controversial effect was the suggestion that an assassin or assassins other than Oswald was involved.

The film has been featured in films or other media, such as the Oliver Stone film JFK, which used the clearest copy of the film available to the public prior to the late 1990s. For example, after the final shot, Jacqueline Kennedy can be seen mouthing what appears to be the words, "Oh, my God!" A closeup from the portion of the film showing the fatal shot to Kennedy's head is also shown in the Clint Eastwood film In the Line of Fire. Other references to the film include the name of Andrew Denton's production company (Zapruder's Other Films Pty Ltd.), a line in the film Enemy of the State in which Will Smith's character jokes that he owns a copy of the film. William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... JFK is an American film directed by Oliver Stone, first released on December 20, 1991. ... For other uses, see Clint Eastwood (disambiguation). ... In the Line of Fire is a 1993 film about a psychopath who attempts to assassinate the President of the United States. ... Andrew Denton on the poster for his film God On My Side Andrew Christopher Denton (born May 4, 1960) is an Australian comedian and television presenter, and is the host of the ABCs weekly interview program Enough Rope. ... Enemy of the State is a 1998 film written by David Marconi, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Tony Scott, and starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet and Regina King. ... “W. S.” redirects here. ...

Some critics have stated that the violence and shock of this home movie led to a new way of representing violence in 1970s American cinema, in mainstream, in particular indie and underground horror movies.^[16][17] Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An independent film, or indie film, is usually a low-budget film that is produced by a small movie studio. ... The first use of the term underground film occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, Underground Films. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ...

Marilyn Manson has referenced the film and Kennedy in their songs, such as "President Dead" and "Posthuman", the latter of which begins with the lyrics "She’s got eyes like Zapruder". Marilyn Manson is a rock band based in Los Angeles, California. ...

Zapruder's name is also mentioned in the Manic Street Preachers' song Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayitsworldwouldfallapart (sic) from their 1994 album The Holy Bible: "Zapruder the first to masturbate, the world's first taste of crucifed grace." Manic Street Preachers (often known colloquially as The Manics) are a Welsh rock band often associated with the Britpop scene, who gained mainstream popularity in the UK in the late 1990s. ... The Holy Bible was the third studio album by the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers. ...

"Zapruder's Film" is the title of a track on the 1995 album The Deathray Tapes by Mick Farren and Jack Lancaster. Michael Mick Farren (born 3 September 1943, in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire) is a UK Underground/counterculture radical and anarchist. ...

An episode of Seinfeld (tv series), "The Boyfriend", parodies the Zapruder film in the flashback with Kramer and Newman as the ones being spit on. This article is about the sitcom. ...

References

Vincent Bugliosi (born August 18, 1934 in Hibbing, Minnesota) is an American attorney and author, best known for prosecuting Charles Manson and other defendants accused of the Tate-LaBianca murders. ...

External links

• The History of the Zapruder Film
• Resources and Controversies on Zapruder film
• Assassinated Science. Online website critical of The Great Zapruder Film Hoax.
• Roland Zavada's comments. Answers by Zavada to questions posed about the final chapter of The Great Zapruder Film Hoax.
• JFK assassination film hoax Analysis of Film
• The Zapruder Camera Bell & Howell 414PD Director Series - Overview and User's Manual.
• Computer Reconstruction of JFK Assassination
• Dan Rather's narration of the Zapruder film
• Charles Leslie Bronson Charles Bronson's camera - Keystone Olympic K35 Turrret - Overview.
• Zapruder Film of Kennedy Assassination (1963) at the Internet Movie Database