The Greatest Film Sequences -- Part 9
As we now settle into the summer months, Oscar news dies down considerably, and since I already provided my recap and preview looking at the state of film quality thus far in 2001, it's time to finish up a series which I did not get a chance to complete last fall. It's time to continue on with Part 9 of my series where I revisit what I consider to be some of the greatest motion picture sequences of all time.
As you might remember from last year, this was a series to discuss some of the best of individual motion picture sequences, and I was just getting to some of my real favorites. So for the next couple of weeks while we cruise into Memorial Day, I present the conclusion of my series on the greatest motion picture sequences of all time.
Jim Garrison's speculation and final summation on the Kennedy assassination in the trial of Clay Shaw from JFK (1991) --- This final sequence from Oliver Stone's greatest film was a pure masterpiece of film assembly. And it was another fine example of why film is the greatest and most powerful of art forms, because of its ability to show through moving images different aspects of different events and allow the viewer to decide. Stone used a variety of different film stocks, as well as actual footage of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to show the audience different theories on the assassination during Jim Garrison's presentation of evidence in his trial against New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw.
In it, Stone assaults the viewer with quickly edited images showing a speculation that three shooters were involved in the killing and showed in time with the Zapruder film where and how each shot struck, a total of six shots. Then immediately afterward, Stone presents the "official" version of what happened, with the lone nut Lee Harvey Oswald firing only three shots. The whole sequence is incredibly powerful, because Stone uses the cinema to bring back history, as he does so often with his films, and in this particular case, to re-examine history and perhaps place it under a whole new light.
Jim Garrison, played by Kevin Costner, follows up this visual onslaught, which also debunks the single bullet theory in a very convincing visual way, with a very passionate and well-written speech on what really happened with the conspiracy and cover-up of JFK's murder, a speech which challenges the viewer to take more political action. Stone cements this home with an eerie shot in which Garrison's last line is directed straight to the viewer, as Costner looks directly into the camera and into the viewer's eyes -- "It's up to you."
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