How Technicolor changed movies

What was "glorious Technicolor?" It was a groundbreaking technology — but it was more than that, too.

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In this episode of Vox Almanac, Phil Edwards explores the history of Technicolor: both the technology and the company. Many people recognize Technicolor from The Wizard of Oz, but the technology existed long before then. Two strip Technicolor and three strip Technicolor both revolutionized the film industry and shaped the look of 20th century film.

But Technicolor also influenced movies through its corporate control of the technology. People like Natalie Kalmus shaped the aesthetic of color films, and directors redesigned their sets and films based on the Technicolor look that the company — and viewers — demanded.

Though the process we traditionally recognize as Technicolor is no longer in use (the company does continue), the look remains influential even today.

[ldchappell]

We were color deprived when we saw "The Wizard Of Oz" on TV in the 60s. We only had a black and white TV. When Dorothy opened the door...alas nothing changed. lol

[donaldscott]

As a former Color photo instructor, I remember being nonplussed when I saw The Aviator for the first time - the color was not right. Then, about 1/3 of the way into the film, it hit me - Scorese and his photo director had purposely shot the parts of the film that were set in the two-color Technicolor era in two-color Technicolor. As soon as the 3-color process era began, the color was "right." Brilliant, understated.

[Daniel-htwr]

My grandfather told me that when the Wizard of Oz came out everyone was super stocked to see a film in colour, but when it began it was in black and white everyone in the cinema was pissed off lol

[RYSEproductions]

Another example of colorists being incredibly underrated. Those looks you talk about weren't just "a click". They were a result of weeks and weeks of a colorist adjusting, correcting, tweaking and masking every single shot, sometimes frame by frame. It's the same level of attention, just a different method.

[totesmygoats-bqmk]

When I was a child I thought that the world evolved into color in the fifties and that before it was somehow all black and white. I also thought when you turned off the television the program you were watching would stop and wait right where it was until you got back. Ah childhood.

[Mochrie]

That transition from the sepia to full blown over-the-top Technicolour in The Wizard Of Oz is still one of the most amazing moments in cinema ever.

[AwesomeVidzChannel]

Yesterday my life was duller. Now everything's Technicolor.

[hebneh]

Something he didn't mention, which is also interesting, is that when "Wizard" was being made, there were only a few Technicolor movie cameras in existence and they were all owned by the Technicolor company. The film studios were only able to rent these cameras, and the Technicolor company required their own technicians to transport the cameras and operate them. Because there weren't many cameras, the movie studios had to arrange to rent them well in advance of when the shooting on a particular film would begin. And every night the Technicolor employees would physically take the camera back to their office to take them apart for servicing and lubrication.

[Danyel]

Can we take a moment to appreciate how clever artists had to be in order to make ""special effects" in those days? That sepia-into-color trick with the two actresses and a very discreet swap behind the camera is genius!

[RealEngineering]

This was really well explained. Jealous I wasn't the one to cover it!

[tech]

One reason Technicolor prints have maintained their vibrancy over decades is because the original negatives are black and white, with the silver halide well preserved, whereas in Eastmancolor the silver halide is completely washed away in developing the negative, leaving only the dyes behind. Over time, the dyes fade and discolor, needed significant digital restoration after being scanned.

The three strip process was three strips of black and white film with no dyes, just silver halide, so no discoloration. It's why the negatives can be scanned at 4K today and only need a few touch ups for scratches, versus some Eastmancolor prints having to be remastered significantly.

[mcplayatease]

Well done! My grandfather was one of the Technicolor folks (with his name listed in the opening credits of 136 films from the 1940s and 50s) such as mentioned at 6:21 . My great-grandfather had been one of the early Technicolor investors, staying on through the Depression until a profit came in, and that was how his son got a job there originally, working his way up diligently to become Director at Universal. And it is very true what you said about Mrs. Kalmus 7:52, who sometimes took the credit for movies she did not touch, without listing those who did. Her daughter was a sweetie!, playing Bonnie Blue Butler in Gone with the Wind, and she was a humble and WITTY non-Hollywood sort. Thank you for your wonderful explanation of the very complicated process used during cinema's Golden Age.

[corocorascringechannel]

"So here´s a scene of some Lego people who are apparently... worshipping Lawrence of Arabia"

I never tought I would hear those words in that very specific order and tone combined.

[tommoncrieff]

I knew Oz was not the first full length colour film as my Dad always told me the first colour film he saw was the Adventures of Robin Hood and it was a sensation in 1938. When we watched it on TV he also told me Olivia de Havilland was still alive, which to a child of 10 seemed incredible. That was in 1970. I'm 60 now and she's STILL living and it's still a fantastic film, never bettered by any subsequent Robin Hood!

[Benjaminaq]

I’m colourblind, so this video was an 11 minute reminder

[AtOddsAlways]

For me, Technicolor is a process that, while I've read much about, I've never been abl;e to fully understand it and especially where RBG "became" CMYK. You've finally lifted the veil! Great work and thanks!

[Bioniking]

What's interesting is that back in the day, movies in technicolor would be considered less serious and more fancifu, while black and white was considered the mark of a "realistic/serious" filml. Most musicals and fantasies were filmed in technicolor, while more dramatic films (ie film noir, horror, dramas like On the Waterfront) were in black and white. This changed more or less in the 60s.

[HansonJ]

Apparently people complained and got up out of the theatre when it started in black and white. The start really put people off and made them think it was false advertising.

[JustinY.]

The world was just in black and white before technicolor was a thing, duh.

[billdirlam]

Even when the Wizard of Oz was viewed on a B&W TV set you could still be impressed by the look of Oz when Dorothy steps through that door. The Oz art direction and movie sets were amazing. As a kid of the 1960s I didn't get to see the Wizard of Oz in color until around 1965 or so when we got our first color TV. But color TVs of that era weren't really up to the challenge of faithfully reproducing Technicolor movies. One had to wait until Sony made the Trinitron color TV sets of the 1970s to really enjoy color TV programing. Now High Definition television sets just blows me away. Movies I had seen in a top notch theater look better on a modern day Hi-Def TV screen, that's how good the technology has become.