was the wizard of oz filmed in color
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) All of the Oz sequences were filmed in three-strip Technicolor.[15][16] The opening and closing credits, as well as the Kansas sequences, were filmed in black and white and colored in a sepia-tone process.[15] Sepia-toned film was also used in the scene where Aunt Em appears in the Wicked Witch's crystal ball.
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) In his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Baum describes Kansas as being "in shades of gray". Further, Dorothy lived inside a farmhouse which had its paint blistered and washed away by the weather, giving it an air of grayness. The house and property were situated in the middle of a sweeping prairie where the grass was burnt gray by harsh sun. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry were "gray with age". Effectively, the use of monochrome sepia tones for the Kansas sequences was a stylistic choice that evoked the dull and gray countryside.[citation needed] Much attention was given to the use of color in the production, with the MGM production crew favoring some hues over others. Consequently, it took the studio's art department almost a week to settle on the final shade of yellow used for the yellow brick road.[22]
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) Production on the bulk of the Technicolor sequences was a long and exhausting process that ran for over six months, from October 1938 to March 1939. Most of the cast worked six days a week and had to arrive as early as 4:00 a.m. to be fitted with makeup and costumes, and often did not leave until 7 pm or later. Cumbersome makeup and costumes were made even more uncomfortable by the daylight-bright lighting the early Technicolor process required, which could heat the set to over 100 °F (38 °C). Bolger later said that the frightening nature of the costumes prevented most of the Oz principals from eating in the studio commissary;[30] the toxicity of Hamilton's copper-based makeup forced her to eat a liquid diet on shoot days.[31] It took as many as twelve takes to have Toto run alongside the actors as they skipped down the yellow brick road.
Black and white Since the late 1960s, few mainstream films have been shot in black-and-white. The reasons are frequently commercial, as it is difficult to sell a film for television broadcasting if the film is not in color. 1961 was the last year in which the majority of Hollywood films were released in black and white.[2]