Image of an Assassination: A New Look at the Zapruder Film

Produced 1998 by MPI Teleproductions and the Zapruder family, with digital restoration of the 26-second 483-frame Zapruder 8mm film stored in National Archives, 1.37:1 screen ratio, color, stereo sound, 88 mins., DVD released 1998.

poster from IMDb

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The film shows 3 shots fired in 8 second, the first shot deflected by a tree branch but causing Gov. John Connally to look over his right shoulder, the second shot hitting Kennedy in the neck and Connally's right side, and the third shot hitting Kennedy's head. Frame 313 shows brain matter spraying forward from the third shot. Abraham Zapruder sold the rights to his film to Life magazine for $50,000, including the original negative and 2 of the 3 prints Zapruder had made Nov. 22, 1963, at the Kodak Laboratory in Dallas. Time Inc. purchased the film rights for an additional $100,000 and published still frames of the film in the Nov. 29 issue. Life provided slides of some of the frames to the Warren Commission. Garrison subpoened the film to be shown in the 1969 trial of Clay Shaw and had copies made. After death of Abraham Aug. 30, 1970, an unauthorized copy of the film was shown for the first time on TV during the Good Night America show hosted by Geraldo Rivera in 1975. Time Inc. returned the film to the family April 9, 1975 for $1, with rights assigned to the family company LMH. The family donated the original film to the National Archives in 1978. LMH in 1997 decided to make a digital copy with restoration by McCrone Associates. At the National Archives, McCrone made 483 photographs using special 4x5 equipment. The restoration process was filmed by MPI.

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revised 4/25/01 by Schoenherr | Filmnotes