Until some crewmember said “why not just film it all in color and paint Kansas brown?” How to go from sepia Kansas to technicolor Oz? This was a problem that nearly sank that amazing reveal shot. The celluloid used as film at the time was thick and brittle. This is the greatest special effect you never knew you were looking at. What a special way to bring some magic to audiences, especially in a time when things were really down in America during the Great Depression. What better way to pull it off than in a big reveal like that? Fantastic! I know by today’s standards this doesn’t seem like a lot for a movie, but this was a great trick given the technology they had. Since technicolor was not very widely available prior to the Wizard of Oz’s release, for many people it would be the first time they were ever seeing a moving picture in color. Originally posted by hello-robin-goodfellowīut then after Dorothy lands and opens the door, she reveals not only the magical land of Munchkinland but also the magic of technicolor in one single shot. The Wizard of Oz starts out in black & white - standard of the time and what people were used to. One of my favorite stunts ever executed in a movie is so simple yet incredibly groundbreaking and it’s in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy opens the door to reveal a full-color world.
