Shaken camera syndrome; 'Bourne' audiences feel effects of unbroken action

"A spectre is haunting contemporary cinema: the shaky shot."

So writes David Bordwell in connection with the growingcontroversy over the hyperkinetic filming and editing style of suchmovies as "The Bourne Ultimatum." This is a specter that will not goaway. The quick cutting of "Ultimatum" (average shot length: twoseconds) has inspired a flood of messages to my Answer Man column,and now Bordwell, probably the most respected U.S. film academic,forwarded me a post in which "sfjockdawg," the writer, says:

"We went to see 'B.U.' on the IMAX in San Francisco. Near theend, when Webb is having the flashback to when he is forced to showhis commitment to the project, the …