The Zapruder Film: Reframing JFK's Assassination

by David R. Wrone

It is the most famous home movie of all time, the most closely analyzed 26 seconds of film ever shot, the most disturbing visual record of what many have called "the crime of the century."
In 486 frames--a mere six feet of celluloid--Abraham Zapruder's iconic film captures from beginning to end the murder of President John F. Kennedy in broad daylight. An essential piece of evidence, the film has become nearly synonymous with the assassination itself and has generated decades of debate among conspiracy theorists and defenders of the Warren Commission's official report. Until now, however, no scholar has produced a comprehensive book-length study of the film and its relation to the tragic events of November 22, 1963.
David Wrone, one of our nation's foremost authorities on the assassination, re-examines Zapruder's film with a fresh eye and a deep knowledge of the forensic evidence. He traces the film's history from its creation on the "grassy knoll" by Dallas dressmaker Zapruder through its initial sale to "Life" magazine and early reproductions and its analysis by the Warren Commission and countless assassination researchers, licensing by the Zapruder family, legal battles over bootleg copies, and sale to the federal government for sixteen million dollars.
Wrone's major contribution, however, is to demonstrate how a close examination of the film itself necessarily refutes the Warren Commission's lone-gunman and single-bullet theories. The film, as he reminds us, provides a scientifically precise timeline of events, as well as crucial clues regarding the timing, number, origins, and impact of the shots fired that day. Analyzing the film frame-by-frame in relation to other evidence--including two key photos by Phil Willis and Ike Altgens--he builds a convincing case against the official findings.
Without fanfare, he concludes that more than three gunshots were fired from more than one direction and that most likely none were fired by alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. If true, then JFK's death was the result of a conspiracy, for the Commission's nonconspiracy conclusion requires a maximum of three shots and one gunman.
Wrone, however, does not speculate as to who actually shot JFK or why--or even if Oswald was a part of the conspiracy. In fact, he is no fan of conspiracy-think and is just as critical of the legion of conspiracy theorists as he is of the Warren Commission (which, he reveals, crushed dissent within its own ranks).
Doggedly pursuing the evidence wherever it leads, Wrone has produced a meticulous, clear-eyed, and provocative new reading of this remarkable cinematic Rosetta Stone.

Genres: History

380 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

Reviews

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is retired professor emeritus of history at Wisconsin University. He taught courses for twenty years on the Kennedy assassination, so readers of this book will quickly discover that on this topic, he has a very large filing cabinet for a brain. He is also, like myself, a senior member of the Oswald Innocent Campaign. www.oswald-innocent.com So nothing biased with this review!

I arrived at this book via internet podcasts on matters concerning the ARRB and their dealings with the chain of evidence concerning the Zapruder film. In turn this led me to the writings of Douglas P. Horne and his 'Inside the ARRB' publications of 2009. (Vol IV deals with Zapruder) As Wrone's 'The Zapruder Film-Reframing JFK's Assassination' was published back in 2003, I thought I needed to read this first.

The presentation of facts surrounding the sixteen million dollar reel of 8mm film that runs for just twenty six seconds is astounding. Wrone is meticulous with his research and writes with the clarity and authority that can be expected from a learned professor. I found this book to be a compelling read that I couldn't put down, and one that I'm sure I will refer back to many times in the future. If Abraham Zapruder had decided not to collect his Bell & Howell 8mm movie camera on the morning of 22nd November '63, and if he hadn't chosen his vantage point in front of the pergola on the north hill of the plaza, perhaps the Warren Commission verdict of Oswald, acting alone, firing three shots from the sixth floor of the TSBD would be sold to history today. Wrone discards the lone-nut and the magic bullet stupidity. Here was a coup d'etat by conspiracy, executed by more than one gunman. He includes Algens6 to exonerate Oswald from the shooting. He also has much to say about other investigative research too like the theories of alteration to the Zapruder film, Lifton's 'Best Evidence', Groden's grassy knoll shooter, Marrs, Garrison, Twyman and others.
Very authoritive, a must have addition to the literature of this case.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am by no means a JFK expert. I'm a pretty casually invested observer, passionate about the passionate arguments surrounding the subject more than I am about the subject itself, in a certain way. Part of the reason for that is that it feels impossible to actually, really, truly get a grip on the sprawl of the case at this point. Reading books on the assassination is to read a diverse set of accusations regarding who did what, when, and where, who properly cited things, whose documents were incomplete or tampered with or suspected, who influenced whom and so on. It's functionally impossible to know where to start, who to trust, and even how to make ones way through the overall chaos of the investigation to get at anything approaching the truth. I've recognized this and made my peace with it. Still, I like reading about the investigations, and about the culture of conspiracy and questioning that the assassination has engendered, even if some of it is utter lunacy. Wrone's book is an especially readable one here, in part because it limits its examination and the breadth of its claims to what can be ascertained from directly engaging the history, visuals, and culture of the Zapruder film alone. That is, Wrone doesn't make big, bold claims about the assassination or make accusations, he merely uses the film's recorded history and the interpretation of its images to point to the presence of a conspiracy that simply cannot be denied. And he does this by consistently referring not just to speculative interpretations, but to concrete documents, the majority of which are reproduced in the back of the book. This makes reading the book feel like more of a report than a commentary, but in the best way. When there's a citation noted, you can go back and check it in a tangible way that feels discrete from many of the other assassination narratives I've read, and makes the instances of speculation that Wrone does engage in--all centering around prospective motives for the particular uses or misuses of the Zapruder film, never on the nature of the assassination itself--feel all the more grounded. There are chapters in this book that are not especially fun to read because of the nature of their historical reportage: to make his point, Wrone does at times have to dryly discuss the history of the possession of the Zapruder film, for instance, going into minute detail about things like the availability of color duplicating printers for Kodachrome II film stock in Dallas in 1963. But these "drier" chapters set up the drama that comes in during Wrone's broader discussion of the implications of the film and its surrounding culture on the interpretive work done by both Warren Commission defenders and deniers, letting him roundly critique a host of figures whose shoddy work both for and against charges of conspiracy have led to the tangled web of chaos that makes engaging the Kennedy case feel impossible to speculative amateurs like me. In this, Wrone does a pretty admirable job wrangling all of these tangled threads into a cohesive narrative centered on the Zapruder film that makes its peculiarities and significance feel profound and fresh, no easy task for a subject so old and so widely talked about and shown.

[Jeffrey Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

David R. Wrone did an excellent job in his 380-page examination of the JFK assassination through the twists and turns of the 26-second Zapruder film. He gives us a background on Abraham Zapruder and traces the film's ownership and history from the moment of its creation on Nov. 22, 1963 through its eventual transfer and purchase by the U.S. government.

Wrone goes a step further than just tracing the history of the film. He shows us how the film was used as evidence for the FBI and Warren Commission investigations, as well as showing us the proof on how the reports were wrong.

In the appendix, he reprints the printed text of the various statements and affidavits he references earlier in the book.

I disagree with some of Wrone's overall conclusions regarding the JFK assassination, conclusions not covered too well in this book. However, he lays out a brilliant case showing how the Zapruder film shows how the Warren Commission is wrong. That we agree upon.

This is an excellent piece of research and writing. I highly recommend.

[Darryl Updegrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really learned a lot about the events of 22 Nov 1963. Photos were helpful. Also able to see the film on YouTube. Good read, makes a clear case for conspiracy and multiple shooters.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating if sometimes tedious look at all the aspects of the Zapruder film. Do recommend it if you are researching the JFK assassination, as I am.

[M. I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diligent research. Enlightening. Simply reinforces my suspicion that the whole affair was a whitewash.

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand the Kennedy assassination, you must read this book.