The first opportunity Americans had to see it was on Mar. Soon after, Hill was asked, Was there anything back there that you observed, that she might have been reaching for? His response: I thought I saw something come off the back, too, but I cannot say that there was. Milicent Cranor, a WhoWhatWhy senior editor with a background in forensic medical publishing, has studied the JFK assassination on and off for more than two decades. See the "Rather Lies" page for the chronology of what happened to the Zapruder Film. I recall one researcher saying that the Elsie Dorman was the worst photographer ever. 161 ). But you can tell a lot about where he stood from his film itself. And to orient yourself even more, check out the view in real time from the alleged snipers nest in the Texas Book Depository Building: Earthcam of Dealey Plaza. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Part way, I stopped it for about two seconds, then resumed the movement. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Again, why Elsie Dorman? The Nix film shows far less detail because it was taken at a distance. Astronomy. These witnesses directly contradict the Zapruder Film and all of the frames past Z 133. Other witnesses had the same impression. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. . or as Doug Horne thinks, 'the blob on the side of JFK's head was painted in to fit actions at Bethesda. His silent color 8 mm film of JFK being shot to death in broad daylight while riding in an open limousine is the most historically momentous home movie in history., Until a few years ago, the authenticity and reliability of the extant Zapruder film was accepted by almost all JFK assassination researchers, even the severest critics of the Warren Report, myself included. It can be found in an article by attorney and JFK researcher Carol Hewett that is just stunning, rich in insight and very hard-to-get information. I can understand why the Z-film was sequestered. Life brought the original to Washington in February for the Commission's viewing, and also made color 35mm slide enlargements from the relevant frames of the original film for the FBI. Some were shooting black-and-white or color stills, Polaroids, or 35mm slides, while several others had movie cameras loaded with color film. For years we were deceived about the chain of custody of the Zapruder film. I suspect the Presidents bodily movements make more sense as a function of braking and acceleration (with removed frames inbetween). The Zapruder film shows President Kennedy being shot from behind and not from the infamous grassy knoll, in corroboration of the official autopsy findings, says Nalli in a release. For some reason, though, they never discussed their mutual involvement in the events of November 22, 1963. I decided to do an experiment using my home computer and editing software. . HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. As I heard the first retort [sic], I looked back over my shoulder and saw what appeared to me to be a spray of water come out of the rear seat of the Presidents car.. Dutton, a comedy ghostwriter, and editor of consequential legal and scientific documents. Under those circumstances, those responsible for the editing of the original Zapruder film ( CIA ) would have been FORCED to retain the headshot frames. [25], In December 1999, the Zapruder family donated the film's copyright to the Sixth Floor Museum, 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 since been returned. J.W. Part of the motorcade route through Dallas. XVIII. William Newman and his family were the closest to Kennedy when he was shot. JFK-MLK-RFK Assassinations. Just about as I reached it, there was another sound, which was different than the first sound. There would be a difference between the viewers desired and the viewers who could conceivably see the composite. Garrison unsuccessfully subpoenaed the original film in 1968. Until a few years ago, the authenticity and reliability of the extant Zapruder film was accepted by almost all JFK assassination researchers, even the severest critics of the Warren Report, myself included. John P. Costella, "The New Zapruder Film", "Abraham Zapruder Film | The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza", "JFK Files: Max Holland's 11 Seconds in Dallas", "NOVA | Spies That Fly | Master of the Surveillance Image | PBS", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_QIuu6hsAc, "La mort de JFK dans le viseur de Zapruder", "Murder Most Foul | The Official Bob Dylan Site", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zapruder_film&oldid=1149221010, Works about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, United States National Film Registry films, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Articles lacking reliable references from May 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 10 April 2023, at 21:53. There was nothing and you couldn't get anything on television . The inaccuracies in his description contributed to many conspiracy theories about the assassination. Life released those missing frames from the first-generation copy it had received from the film's original version;[17] the Zapruder frames outside the section used in the commission's exhibits, frames 155157 and 341, were also damaged and were spliced out of the original rendition of the film, but are present in the first-generation copies. "Life To Release Today Part of Kennedy Film", JFK Assassination Zapruder Stabilized Motion Panorama HD plus SloMo 50th anniversary, JFK Assassination Stabilized Motion Panorama HD Nix v Zapruder 50th anniversary (HD), National Archives and Records Administration, President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, Learn how and when to remove this template message, National Photographic Interpretation Center, List of photographs considered the most important, "The Other Shooter: The Saddest and Most Expensive 26 Seconds of Amateur Film Ever Made", "Kennedy's Assassination: How LIFE Brought the Zapruder Film to Light", "World's Oldest Cub Reporter: Hewitt's Half Century at CBS", Warren Commission Hearings and Exhibits, Vol. Years later, in an interview she gave with my mother, Marilyn remembered, "When they started to make their first turn, turning into the street, he said, 'OK, here we go.' On November 22, 1963, Abraham Zapruder shot what has become the most famous home movie of all time: a chilling 26-second snippet of film depicting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy . The editors of the Zapruder Film had many sources to use in the construction of the Zapruder film. It would not be left to circumstantial decision. There are serious doubts about whether the film is original and an accurate depiction of the assassination.. You're right, except that the headshot could not be edited. Since John Kennedy appeared in every frame of the relevant sequence of the film, the FBI was able to plot on a surveyor's map of Dealey Plaza . John Costella said the film was technically perfect except for small, technical changes in the film. As you will see from what follows, this is a crucial question. In recent interviews (here, here, here, and here), Hill revised what he reported in his sworn testimony. The model then calculated how the bullet would have acted when it entered President Kennedys skull if it came from behind. For an instant, Abe and Marilyn stood stunned on the concrete stump, paralyzed by what had just happened. However, I dont believe that is the case. ( Z-210 ) [8] Copies of the complete film are available on the Internet. So if the blurred frames were caused by Zapruder moving the camera in order to keep up with the movement of the limo,by his own admission the "clear" frame ( 312 ) must have been caused by the camera taking a "still". Black Secret Service Agent, Jailed for JFK Plot Warning,, JFK Murder: Evolving Strategies for Damage Control, Was a Stop the Steal Election Hijacking Strategy Brewed Up. Time Inc. filed a lawsuit against Thompson and his publishing company for copyright infringement. There are 108+ witnesses who say something different happened than the favored conspiracy theories based on the Zapruder Film, or the Official Story about what happened during the assassination. What happened? I wondered what would happen if I lined them up so I did. In 1966, he was interviewed by attorney/author Mark Lane. ZAPRUDER FILM CHRONOLOGY - COMPILED BY CHRIS SCALLY (Tabular_Z Film_Chronology). And that moment does not show on the Zapruder film. "..they weren't very clear, for the simple reason that on the telephoto lens it's good to take stills---when you move---did you ever have binoculars and every time you move everything is exaggerated in the move---that's why they are kind of blurred---the movement." Because the film is unique, its value was difficult to ascertain; eventually, following arbitration with the Zapruder heirs, the government purchased the film in 1999 for $16 million; however, at that time, the family retained copyright to the film. But it does provide perspective and landmarks in the background. They moved toward the pergola where the Hesters had been standing during the motorcade, but in the panic and chaos, Abe soon got separated from the rest of them. After having a nightmare in which he saw a sign in Times Square, New York City, with the phrase "See the President's head explode! The film's physical location remained the same, only its record classification changed. That same year, the family donated all copyrights on the film to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Dino indicated in the interview that he was positive that they had the original film, and that when they projected it for the two members of the Secret Service, it was the first time they had viewed the film. A lone nut! The second one had almost a double sound as though you were standing against something metal and firing into it, and you hear both the sound of a gun going off and the sound of the cartridge hitting the metal place. You may be wondering at this point: How could anyone with normal hearing not have heard that first loud bang? [39], In 1994, the Zapruder film footage was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for permanent preservation in the National Film Registry. And in real life, as demonstrated by the chart from the Military Armament Corporation, there are also manifold opportunities for fabrication and distortion. [21] Zapruder's film was aired as part of a Los Angeles area television newscast on February 14, 1969. This would contradict the Commissions central finding that JFK was killed by a single shooter. But a film can also be altered by simply deleting frames. Each sniper is in a designated spot: Area of Deception (directly across from the Area of Certain Location), Area of Confusion (one on each side of the Area of Certain Location). The Zapruder film gives a much closer view of the action, and of whatever may have landed on the trunk as a result of JFKs devastating wound which might suggest a shot from the front a possibility that would raise serious questions about the official narrative of the assassination, that JFK was shot from behind. The processed film then was taken by Zapruder to the Jamieson labs so that 3 optical print copies could be made. Mary Moorman and James Altgens, their cameras loaded with black-and-white film, were positioned near the curb across the street from where Abe was standing. How many people were photographing the motorcade? The problem with lining up the images in the frame is that it leaves the edges of the frame itself misaligned. After a while, his receptionist, Marilyn Sitzman came walking up the hill. You could even use film frames from Houston Street or Main Street. As television station WFAA's equipment was incompatible with the format, Eastman Kodak's Dallas film processing facility developed the film and Jamieson Film Company produced three copies. You can see how his visor snaps up when contact is made. I proved that. PLEASE CLICK ON THIS TITLE FOR INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR REGISTRATION!. For an instant, the back of a freeway sign obscures the limousine, and then the Kennedys reappear. I believe this is so you would not recognize anything in another film that would match the Zapruder Film or come even close to matching the Zapruder Film. Some of the alterations in the Zapruder film, therefore, may have consisted of simply deleting certain frames, making copies of the edited version and renumbering the frames. Somehow Abe got back to the office. ), Below is a still frame that seems to show Jackie much closer to Hill. This movement of the limousine is verified by witness Roy Truly, who testified that,"I saw the President's car swerve to the left and stop." article by attorney and JFK researcher Carol Hewett that is just stunning, rich in insight and very hard-to-get information. [10][13]", Source: ( Noel Twyman, Bloody Treason, ( 1995 ) pg. It just couldn't be done. She also focuses on the Warren Commission testimony of Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent who jumped onto the back of the Presidents limousine. The Zapruders went on to license the footage to several other sources, including filmmaker Oliver Stone, who used it in his 1991 film JFK. Stones film helped lead to the creation of the Assassination Records Review Board, which would later decide that the U.S. government should own all footage related to the Kennedy assassination. Where are the Zapruder film equivalents to these frames? The 1963 Zapruder film, taken by Abraham Zapruder, is derived from the six-foot strip of celluloid contained in the U.S. National Archives, scientifically pr. There are a lot of people who would still like to believe the Zapruder Film is still the best source of information on the assassination. The natural inclination would be to step on the gas and accelerate as quickly as possible. He filmed from the time the presidential limousine turned onto Elm Street[1] for a total of 26.6seconds, exposing 486 frames of standard 8 mm KodachromeII safety film, running at an average of 18.3 frames/second. Abraham Zapruder live broadcast on ABC, Nov. 22, 1963. [22], The first broadcast of the Zapruder film was on the late-night television show Underground News with Chuck Collins, originating on WSNS-TV, Ch 44, Chicago in 1970. It they accept that the Z film is fraud then that kills years or perhaps decades of work. Martin was the outside rider at the left rear of the limousine. Public Viewing of the Zapruder Film - On March 6, 1975, the Zapruder film was shown for the first time to the American people by Geraldo Rivera on ABC's Good Night America. The film was used as evidence in the case against Lee Harvey Oswald, who shot Kennedy from a sixth-floor window at the Texas School Book Depository. It demonstrates that a temporary cavity formed inside the presidents soft tissue as the momentum and kinetic energy of the bullet smashed into his skull, causing his head to snap forward. Frame 153 from the Zapruder film. Greenpeace activist since 1985. I recorded my index finger ( simulating the movement of the limousine ) from left to right. "I saw his head open up and I started yelling, 'They killed him! Music. Photo credit: Ike Altgens / AP / Wikimedia. The right rear portion of his head was missing. A small number of those witnesses said shooting occurred on Main Street and Houston Street. Books. Plagued by nightmares of the films gruesome content, Zapruder only allowed the magazine to publish photos of the assassination footage on the condition that it remove frame 313the moment in which Kennedy is shot in the head. [35] Brugioni then stated the Zapruder film in the National Archives today, and available to the public, specifically frame 313, is an altered version of the film he saw and worked with on November 2324, the earlier of the two versions handled by the NPIC. What needs to be changed to tell a different story? I noticed that the motorcycle antennas on the top half were askew from the antennas on the bottom half. https://jfkfacts.org/rewinding-the-zapruder-film/-this is Doug Horne speaking on the Zapruder film. The video was projected onto Lee Harvey Oswald's T-shirt in the 2004 revival of the Broadway musical, Assassins. Whether it was filmed by Zapruder or is a completely different film I'll still refer to it in this thread as an unaltered Zapruder film or UZ for short. James Norwood, a retired professor of Humanities, University of Minnesota, was perhaps the first to point out what seems to be a definitive discrepancy: In the Zapruder film of the assassination, Jackie goes only just beyond the middle of the trunk before retreating. The circled number is the frame of video. We also know that the CIA destroyed its records of the films stay at that lab. The Zapruder film, the only continuous chronological visual record of the assassination, is the best available photographic evidence of the number and timing of the shots that struck the occupants of the Presidential limousine. The extant Zapruder film is missing frames 208-211. Some years ago, the late JFK researcher/author Jim Marrs interviewed a man named William Reymond, a JFK author/researcher from France who claimed to have seen another version of the Zapruder film. ( 3 H 221 ) The Russian-born Zapruder was a clothing manufacturer whose office sat across the street from the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas. He didn't start filming again until he could see the president and the first lady coming toward him in the car. Only one person filmed from start to finish the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which occurred in a matter of seconds at 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 22, 1963 on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, TX. Plenty of information about the crime has been public for years, and Nalli drew from that well of data to create a model of the physical processes of the gunshot wound. b.) The picture below a still from the Nix film shows Abraham Zapruder directly across from Nix, standing on an abutment. I believe most folks would agree with that. In early 1967, Life released a statement saying that four frames of the original (frames 208211) were accidentally destroyed, and the adjacent frames damaged, by a Life photo lab technician on November 23, 1963. Even today, the Zapruder film is seen as evidence in countless conspiracy theories about who shot the president. Based upon the jotted-down notations found in the 1963 Datebook of an amoral clandestine government henchman, we now know the identities of some of the . So, as Abe climbed up on the ledge and found his bearings, he asked Marilyn to stand behind him and steady him if he started to lose his balance. I think people remember when they are struck in the back with a bullet that knocks them forward, and that memory is confirmed on film. He was interviewed by researchers Fred Newcomb and Perry Adams and told them, as reported in their unpublished 1974 manuscript Murder from Within, thathe observed the limousine stop for just a moment. Gil - Very concise work and convincing enough to a Z film alteration skeptic like myself. From those slides, the FBI made a series of black-and-white prints, which were given to the commission for its use. Abe later tried to piece together his memory of the traumatic first moments after the assassination. and told them that"I could see the President's car and another one and they looked like the cars were stopped. As a result, the Justice Department awarded the Zapruder family $16 million for the original print in 1999. Re:R. Andrew Kiel-you are " Spot On ". There might have been one or two people still standing but I would say that ninety-eight percent of the people were still laying flat on the side of the hill.". No. He was by himself on the plaza, distraught and in a daze, with the camera still in his hand and the case slung over his shoulder, when he encountered Harry McCormick, a reporter from the Dallas Morning News. Whereas witness reports can be in error.. However, the copyright for the film is owned by the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas Texas. He re-cranked the mechanism of the camera to "full wind" so that it would run for the maximum amount of time. I believe that this experiment proves that the stop could have been edited out and the resulting film would show that the vehicle had only slowed down when it completely stopped.More evidence of editing: missing frames We strive for accuracy and fairness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGdM7ut-Kk4, http://assassinationofjfk.net/the-two-npic-zapruder-film-events-signposts-pointing-to-the-films-alteration/, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/sitzman.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rich-Dellarosa-The-Turn-onto-Elm.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Z-film-no-turn.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/cronkite.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/William-Reymond-The-Limo-Stop.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rich-Dellarosa-The-Limo-Stop.mp4, https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=40392#relPageId=82, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/yarborough-car-stopped.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rich-Dellarosa-blurred-vs-sharp.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/motion-edit.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/nix-altered.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Muchmore-Film.mp4, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/muchmore1.png, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/muchmore2.png, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/muchmore3.png, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/muchmore.png, https://gil-jesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/muchmore4.png, https://jfkfacts.org/rewinding-the-zapruder-film/. Abraham Zapruder's camera was running at a determinable speed: 18.3 frames per second. Chart from Military Armament Corporation. The underlined statements may be true. Until a few years ago, the authenticity and reliability of the extant Zapruder film was accepted by almost all JFK assassination researchers, even the severest critics of the Warren Report, myself included. ( Decker Exhibit 5323, 19 H 467 ) [9][10][11][12][13][14] On the day of the assassination, he and some of his employees went to Dealey Plaza to get a glimpse of the presidential motorcade. But the first thing I remember is after that bottle hit and I looked down . "And then I realized," Abe said. He was interviewed after the assassination in the Dallas County Sheriff's Dept. Why not ?The Limousine Stop Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), https://www.history.com/news/what-happened-to-the-zapruder-film. Although it is not the only film of the shooting, the Zapruder film has been described as being the most complete, giving a relatively clear view from a somewhat elevated position on the side from which the president's fatal head wound is visible. His silent color 8 mm film of JFK being shot to death in broad daylight while riding in an open limousine is the most historically momentous home movie in history. In his affidavit, Billy Lovelady, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository, said"I recall that following the shooting, I ran toward the spotwhere President Kennedy's car had stopped." His analogy, standing against something metal strongly suggests he was in contact with the car when JFK was shot in the head. Foster testified before the Warren Commission but was never asked about what he told the FBI. The original film was retained by Zapruder, in addition to one of the copies. Hunt, the Dallas oil man. Keep in mind that this film was never intended to be released to the public. The extant Zapruder film shows JFKs limousine gliding forward at a steady speed of about 11 mph, it definitely does not depict a stop or slow down. Brugioni was considered the world's foremost imagery intelligence analyst until his death in 2015. The Zapruder film was automatically designated an "assassination record" and therefore became the official property of the United States government. 20 frames from the time Webb hit the dirt, until AC made contact. (1 HSCA 42). I put my right foot, I believe it was, on the left rear step of the automobile, and I had a hold of the handgrip with my hand, when the car lurched forward. Astudy published in the journal Helios corroborates that conclusion. The Presidents reactions just after the projectile impact were physically consistent with a gunshot wound caused by a high-energy Carcano military rifle bullet fired from the vicinity of the Texas School Book Depository, Nalli writes. ( pronounced Itek ) He believed that this was a copy from an original film owned by H.L. It was an important piece of evidence before the Warren Commission hearings, and all subsequent investigations of the assassination. [15] After studies of that copy were made in January 1964, the Warren Commission judged the quality to be inadequate, and requested the original film. Thats the only smoking gun in the film.. Based on his model, Nalli also thinks that the theory of a second shooter and that of the president being shot by hollow-point or soft-point bullets are also unlikely. [33] Horne discovered the NPIC worked on two different versions of the Zapruder film on Saturday and Sunday nights immediately following the assassination, which had occurred on Friday. Despite the film's pro-Stones bias, Selvin notes that the . (The original was never returned to the Nix family; it was lost.) But that film at least as far as Jackies escapade on the trunk is concerned seems less edited than the Zapruder film. But he testified that he did so immediately after hearing the first shot. It shows one that had already started. Only one person filmed from start to finish the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which occurred in a matter of seconds at 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 22, 1963 on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, TX. Based on the Elsie Dorman film, heres what I think really happened in the alteration of the Z film.
