The Evolution of Movie Production from Black and White to Color

For those who love cinema, it’s fascinating to understand why movies went from being primarily in black and white (BW) until the mid-1960s, despite the availability of color technology since the early 1930s. This article explores the reasons behind this phenomenon, the technical limitations, and the lasting impact on the film industry.

Money Matters

The primary driver behind the continued use of black and white films until the mid-1960s was cost. Before the advent of three-strip Technicolor, black and white films offered a higher-quality result. While Technicolor promised stunning visuals (think of the iconic transition in The Wizard of Oz), it was an expensive and cumbersome process. Movies like The Wizard of Oz required vast amounts of light, elaborate backdrops, and mid-sized budgets, which were not accessible or appealing to independent filmmakers.

Technical Limitations

Another crucial factor was the availability and cost of film stock. Black and white film was cheap and readily available, whereas color film was scarce and expensive. The Technicolor process, controlled by the Technicolor company, was very selective about its clients. This company dominated the color film market until alternatives emerged, which made cost a significant barrier for filmmakers.

Personal Experiences in Photography

By the early 1960s, color photography began to emerge as a more viable option for everyday use. My father, for instance, took a lot of color slide photos during an extended trip to Europe in 1961. He used a basic 35mm camera, which would have been more expensive than black and white photography but the results were worth the investment, especially for display on a screen or wall. A key example of the difference in results is a photo of the Parthenon, where the color balance is incorrect and would have been much better 60 years ago.

However, not all color photographs have stood the test of time. A significant factor in the preservation of photos is the quality of the film used. For instance, Kodachrome, a type of color slide film, has proven to endure significantly better than other types of color film. Two such examples are:

The first picture is of my mother and me at Stonehenge. We were able to get close to the stones at the time, which is no longer allowed. The second photo was taken in November 1961 in London, near Regent Street. Standing on a traffic island, I captured the image hand-held with an exposure of 1/8 second.

These images, though taken decades ago, still appear vibrant and clear, thanks to the superior quality of Kodachrome.

Technicolor: A Game-Changer but Expensive

Technicolor was indeed a game-changer in terms of visual quality. However, its high costs and technical requirements meant that it was only used for large productions. The transition from black and white to color was gradual, with a shift in the ratio of monochrome to color movies in favor of the latter by the 1970s. Single strip color negative film and processing became cheap enough to make color the norm, relegating black and white to “art” and extremely low-budget films.

Modern Day Considerations

Today, the choice to shoot in black and white is primarily an aesthetic one, not a budgetary one. There is a resurgence in monochrome photography and movie production, driven by trends in artistic expression and historical cinema. However, the majority of movies and photography continue to be produced in color due to its widespread availability and superior visual impact.