The Zapruder film is probably one of the most well known films in existence. It has millions of hits on YouTube today, in countless "enhanced" variations and stabilizations. It was played for the public upon its release by the CIA, and a massive bidding war was fought over who would get the film first. CBS ended up losing to Life magazine, who bought it for $150,000. Life subsequently published around 30 frames from the film in a special Kennedy Memorial edition, where Zapruder insisted that they leave out the notorious 313 after having a nightmare of a headline reading "See the President's head explode!" But what about the physical film?
The reel itself lasts for about 26.6 seconds, totaling 486 frames at 18.3 frames per second. Zapruder filmed with a standard home shooting Kodachrome on 8mm film. The first observable reaction to a gun occurs sometime before frame 170. Governor Connally turns his head sharply from left to right between frames 160 and 170 as if reacting to sound of the shot.The second shot occurs between frames 223 and 224 when Kennedy was visibly hit initially and raised his elbows and clenched his fists in front of his face and throat. The next recorded shot occurs at notorious frame 313, with the visible effects of Kennedy's headshot.
Today, the film is valued at around $16 million. In 1999, the Zapruder family donated the film to the Sixth Floor museum, selling all copyrights to the museum as well. However, due to the poor quality of home video film itself, the original is beginning to head toward the end of its fifty year lifespan. Over time, the acetic acid in the cellulose acetate film begins to break down on itself, causing the film to become brittle, shrink, and develop strange pigmentations. There is not any known process for halting or reversing the rate of degradation, but it can be stalled somewhat by cool dry climates. Thank goodness for digitalization, eh?
"Thank goodness"--well, as long as we think that the proliferation of this footage is a good thing! And I suppose I do. I'm glad I can access it easily when teaching this course, that we don't have to stage an underground screening in Soho as DeLillo depicts in _Underworld_. But when you look at the range of crackpot amateur conspiracy-theorist mania that queues up along the right column on YouTube when you call up the Zapruder film, I'm not so sure!
ReplyDelete