What The First Color Film Really Is (It’s Not Wizard Of Oz)

The Wizard of Oz revolutionized cinema with its use of color and some might mistakenly believe it to be the first color movie, but it didn't even pioneer the use of color on film. Along with its magical storytelling, its iconic characters, and its unforgettable songs, one of the standout elements of The Wizard of Oz was Technicolor, the most famous color process in Hollywood. With its highly saturated hues and natural representation of real-life color, the process marked the precedent for the mainstream use of color in every film that followed. However, it wasn't the first film in color.

As with most innovations, the film that popularized color is not the first color movie. It is always tricky to pinpoint the exact moment a technological advancement is born and to identify one sole creator. Which motion picture truly is the "first movie in color" can depend on the classification criteria. When talking about feature-length, narrative-driven movies like The Wizard of Oz, there's one film that stands out as the first color movie in film history. By many measures, The Wizard Of Oz was an innovator, but there are a few color movies that came before.

What The First Color Movie Is

The Kinetoscope Used Color Before Features

Color films existed long before the idea for the iconic Hollywood adaptation of The Wizard of Oz book was even conceived. Around 190 motion pictures experimented with some sort of color techniques before the hit movie starring Judy Garland, but unfortunately, many of them were lost.

As far back as 1895, Thomas Edison was already exhibiting short hand-painted (frame by frame) non-narrative films for the Kinetoscope — a predecessor for movie projectors designed for individual viewing through a peephole window — the first and most famous of which is Annabelle's Serpentine Dance.

Even George Méliès's historic 1902 A Trip to the Moon has a hand-colored print. However, the first color movie projected in natural color (Kinemacolor) was A Visit to the Seaside, an eight-minute British short film that shows small snippets of people living their everyday lives, followed by the first feature-length silent drama using the same technique: The World, the Flesh, and the Devil. This means that the latter is actually the first non-documentary full-color feature film in history.

What sets The World, The Flesh, and the Devil apart from earlier color movies like 1903's La Vie et la passion de Jésus Christ, 1912's With Our King and Queen Through India, and 1912's The Miracle is that it is a feature-length work of fiction. In addition, Kinemacolor — a color technique that served as a predecessor to Technicolor that brought Dorothy and the Wicked Witch to life — was native to its filming process.

This means that the footage was originally captured in color (with the use of red and green filters) instead of going through an artificial coloring process after the film was developed. This makes The World, The Flesh, and the Devil the first color movie, officially.

The Wizard Of Oz Revolutionized Color In Film

The Wizard Of Oz Premiered In 1939

The reason why The Wizard of Oz is widely regarded as the first color movie is because of the effect it had on the industry. Dorothy's step into the land of Oz represented the evolution from "Classic Hollywood," a sepia and monochromatic environment, into a new world full of lively color and happiness.

In fact, this emblematic sequence was done in a very simple yet incredibly creative way: The film was already shot in Technicolor, but the set and a stand-in for Dorothy were painted in a sepia tone. The stand-in opens the door and reveals the vibrant land of Oz, prompting Judy Garland to enter in full color.

The details in the costumes from The Wizard of Oz, along with its vivid sets and its graceful makeup work consequently blew everybody away in theaters. While The Wizard of Oz wasn't the first movie in color, it surely was the most influential. Every Wizard of Oz adaptation (such as Oz the Great and Powerful) has failed to compare to the original, in great part because they don't present any innovation that compares to the achievement of the 1939 film.

Even by today's standards, the land of Oz continues to be a breathtaking paradise thanks to the sense of childlike wonder that its color evokes.

Snow White Was The First Full-Length Color Movie With Sound

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs Premiered In 1937

It feels almost anticlimactic to learn that Disney pioneered the film industry almost a century before Disney+, but the first Disney Princess feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first color movie that's animated, full-length, and with sound. The interesting thing about Snow White is that this cinematic and technological breakthrough was actually coined as "Disney's Folly," as many believed that the endeavor would end in failure during its four-year production period.

However, Snow White did quite the opposite. This ended up being one of the biggest wrong-calls in history, since today many credit the animated Disney film as the catalyst that launched Walt Disney to fame and firmly cemented his place as one of the most accomplished animators of all time. Snow White broke a lot of firsts for Disney and the industry. Snow White was the first commercially successful movie of its time, the first film with an official soundtrack, and the first movie to release said soundtrack as an album.

Before Disney made their own production company, named Buena Vista, Snow White was distributed through RKO Studios. The animated picture maintained its popularity throughout the decades, as it was released on VHS in 1994 and sold 10 million copies during its first week. So, even though The Wizard of Oz is often mislabeled as the first color movie, and may well be the earliest major color live-action success, the equally-famous Snow White was the true pioneer when it came to making a world of post-noir cinema possible.

Why The Wizard Of Oz's Use Of Color Is So Great

The Look Of The Movie Still Impresses Decades Later

Looking back on many of the earlier movies that were filmed in color, modern audiences likely don't view them in the context of something innovative. Most audiences today have grown up only with movies that are in color and have no frame of reference for when that was not a common thing. However, The Wizard of Oz is a movie that is still enjoyed decades later and the use of color is still something that is still impactful when watching it now.

The vibrant colors of the film certainly have something to do with it as Oz is presented as this magical world brought to life in such an eye-catching way. In fact, one of the criticisms against Wicked was the desaturated color grading used for the movie. Despite it being made 85 years later, many people felt Oz looked a lot less interesting in this new version than in the original classic. Indeed, the colorful sets, beautiful costumes, and distinct look of the 1939's The Wizard of Oz make it seem like a special place audiences have never been.

Another reason the color works so well is the filmmaking choices that bring it to the audience. The early scenes in Kansas may look like a lot of the movies made at the time, but the filmmakers use the drabness of Dorothy's life to emphasize the excitement and magic of Oz. The audience gets to follow Dorothy, stepping out of that plain life and into something awe-inspiring when she steps through that door. It remains one of the most effective moments in cinematic history regardless of how many movies in color the viewer has seen.