What is Technicolor? Definition and History Explained

The three strip process required a gargantuan amount of work from the Pre-Production process all the way through Post-Production. Just think about how big that “blimp” camera was! It’s easy to forget just how different the filmmaking process was then compared to now.

Today, everybody with a smartphone has an HD camera at their disposal. It’s entirely mobile, operable, and easy to use — meanwhile the “blimp” required an insane amount of knowledge and technical skill to operate. But by this point, and for the first time, Technicolor filmmaking was made widely possible.

Color in Cinema

What was the first Technicolor movie?

The first Technicolor film shot entirely in Technicolor’s three color process was Becky Sharp in 1935. At the time, this was viewed as a quantum leap forward for cinema. From 1920 to 1935, the cinema industry had gone through enormous change, institutionally (from Pre-Code to Hays-code), structurally (silent to “talkies”), and technologically (black and white to color).

But although many knew about the changes, few had seen them all put together in a single picture.

There were two movies that changed everything for color in film and the world of animation: these were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Wizard of Oz. It’s no secret that Walt Disney put his career on the line with his remake of the famed Brothers Grimm fairytale.

Snow White wasn’t the first Technicolor film, but it’s largely synonymous with the company’s foray into the limelight. It was also the first full-length cel-animated film and first animated feature in the English language.

This video shows how Disney pulled off a miracle through technical expertise:

There’s no doubt about it, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a masterpiece of its time and one of the best animated movies of all time. But many film-goers were still curious to see how three color Technicolor would look in live-action. Enter The Wizard of Oz — perhaps the most famous Technicolor movie of all time.

The Wizard of Oz doesn’t start in color though. All of the scenes in Kansas are shot in sepia. But when Dorothy is whisked into the land of Oz, the visuals saturate with color, which brings us with her into another world. Let’s remind ourselves of how it all came together:

For many, this was the first time they had seen a film in color. It’s easy to forget just how difficult the process of coloring films was. A lot of studios didn’t think it was worth the time or energy.

But after The Wizard of Oz, things started to change.

Not only is The Wizard of Oz enshrined in the annals of cinema history for its production design, but for its technical brilliance as well. The visuals are perhaps more immersive and more staggering than any of its contemporaries.

However, it’s no secret that they came at a cost. At the time, Technicolor cameras required incredibly bright lights to work as intended. Numerous reports say that throughout filming, the sound stage was hotter than 100°F. 

On top of that, many of the actors were in elaborate costumes, especially Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (The Cowardly Lion), and Jack Haley (The Tin Man). It got so hot in those costumes that the crew feared for their safety. 

Fortunately, the cast and crew made it through production mostly unscathed. But many were left traumatized or sick — including the original Tin Man actor Buddy Ebsen, who was poisoned from the silver make-up.

Mass Adoption

Moving into the Technicolor age

After the release of The Wizard of Oz, studios around the world rushed to get their hands on Technicolor. During the 1940s, hundreds of Technicolor films were made — and people loved them.

However, the difficulty of producing them continued to annoy studios and filmmakers. By 1950, there were more than a few competitors carving out Technicolor’s market share. Films were starting to be shot in widescreen through processes like Cinemascope and VistaVision. If Technicolor was going to survive, it needed to adapt.

Enter Technirama: an anamorphic process with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.

This next video shows us how the Technirama process was done and how it was different from its competitors:

End of an Era

The death of Technicolor

Technirama worked for a time, but it didn’t solve the challenges that the dye-transfer process presented. As the years went by, fewer and fewer movies used Technicolor. Two of the last movies to use the process were The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II — two of the best mafia movies of all-time.

Here’s director Francis Ford Coppola talking about his perspective on Technicolor. He reflects on what it was like to work with the company on films like Apocalypse Now and their instrumental aid in the restoration of his film The Cotton Club:

So, what is Technicolor? To Coppola, “Technicolor was synonymous with quality.” The aesthetic of technicolor is one of the most revered in cinema history. Coincidentally, Technicolor faded away around the same time as the Hollywood New Wave did, which was a movement Coppola helped start.

In the end, Technicolor simply became a relic of another age. Today, dozens of Technicolor cameras still exist, dormant and rusty from lack of use. Most of the dye-transfer plants throughout the world have been shut down. Only a few still exist for archival purposes. In the 21st century, color in film typically falls under the domain of color grading and color correction.

Perhaps it’s nostalgia, perhaps it's the colors, perhaps it’s the films themselves. Whatever it is, this much remains certain: cinema wouldn’t be what it is today without Technicolor.

UP NEXT

How to use color in film (FREE Ebook)

You may not be able to make a film in Technicolor anymore, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t tools available to make great use of color in your films. Today, it’s easier than ever before to put your signature touch on the visuals. In this article, we look at 50+ examples of color palettes with films from David Fincher, Wes Anderson, and more.

Up Next: How to Use Color →