--- product_id: 13108951 title: "The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915–1935" price: "$436.28" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/13108951-the-dawn-of-technicolor-1915-1935 store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915–1935 **Price:** $436.28 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915–1935 - **How much does it cost?** $436.28 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/13108951-the-dawn-of-technicolor-1915-1935) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Published to coincide with Technicolor's centennial in 2015, The Dawn of Technicolor recounts the beginnings of one of the most widely recognized names in the American film industry, reconstructing the company's early years from a wealth of previously unavailable internal documentation, studio production files, contemporary accounts and unpublished interviews. Following its incorporation in 1915, Technicolor developed a series of two-color processes as necessary steps toward full-color photography and printing. Despite success in the laboratory and in small-scale production, the company was plagued by repeated disappointments. With the support of patient investors and the visionary leadership of Herbert T. Kalmus, Technicolor eventually prevailed against daunting odds to create the only commercially viable color process for motion pictures. The Dawn of Technicolor investigates these vital make-or-break years, as the firm grew from a small team of exceptional engineers into a multimillion-dollar corporation. The authors chart the making of pivotal films in the process, from the troubled productions of Ben-Hur (1925) and The Mysterious Island (1926-29), to the early short films in Technicolor's groundbreaking three-color process: Walt Disney's animated Flowers and Trees (1932) and the live-action La Cucaracha (1934). The book spotlights the talented engineers and filmmakers associated with Technicolor and the remarkable technical innovations that finally made color films practical, changing the film industry forever. Lavishly illustrated with more than 400 reproductions, it includes a comprehensive annotated filmography of all two-color Technicolor titles produced between 1917 and 1937. Review: One of the best books for lovers of film history. - If you are lover of the technical aspects of film history, I think you will find this book one of the most treasured items in your library. It is a 450-page detailed history of the Technicolor process from its inception in 1917 (and the pre-history of its inventors), through the last of its two-color films in the early 1930s. There is a brief chapter on the changeover to the superior three-color system, plus an exhaustive filmography of all films shot and printed in the various two-color processes, including a summation of what film elements still exist on those films. It is lavishly illustrated with frame blow-ups from countless films. It carefully rides the line between being too technical for an average reader and not being technical enough for in-the-know readers. This must certainly be the finest book on this topic. Review: A Lot of Book to Read! - A book that is destined to be the all-time reference on early Technicolor. The films produced are not the main 'focus' - it is the chronicle of the ups and downs of the struggle to introduce, keep and refine color in the movies. It is very well researched and laid out. A bit big and heavy to hold while reading - but reading it is all worthwhile. This is a book that should stand the test of time and be valuable to anyone who ever will want to really learn about what is important in film. Buy one before it goes out of print! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #485,320 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #77 in Movie Industry #105 in Cinematography (Books) #506 in Video Direction & Production (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 54 Reviews | ## Images ![The Dawn of Technicolor: 1915–1935 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71TtTISZyqL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the best books for lovers of film history. *by J***Y on January 22, 2019* If you are lover of the technical aspects of film history, I think you will find this book one of the most treasured items in your library. It is a 450-page detailed history of the Technicolor process from its inception in 1917 (and the pre-history of its inventors), through the last of its two-color films in the early 1930s. There is a brief chapter on the changeover to the superior three-color system, plus an exhaustive filmography of all films shot and printed in the various two-color processes, including a summation of what film elements still exist on those films. It is lavishly illustrated with frame blow-ups from countless films. It carefully rides the line between being too technical for an average reader and not being technical enough for in-the-know readers. This must certainly be the finest book on this topic. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Lot of Book to Read! *by 1***R on May 12, 2016* A book that is destined to be the all-time reference on early Technicolor. The films produced are not the main 'focus' - it is the chronicle of the ups and downs of the struggle to introduce, keep and refine color in the movies. It is very well researched and laid out. A bit big and heavy to hold while reading - but reading it is all worthwhile. This is a book that should stand the test of time and be valuable to anyone who ever will want to really learn about what is important in film. Buy one before it goes out of print! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great read, terrific resource, lacking some technical info. *by B***R on September 4, 2016* This book describes the many steps in Technicolor's development through its early history as a continuously evolving two color process, ending as the refined three-color Technicolor process is used to film "Becky Sharp". One hopes a second volume is forthcomng! It includes hundreds of color images (ranging from full page to double-size reproductions of actual film clips), many of which have never been published before, and a filmography of details on every Technicolor movie of the era, many titles exceedingly obscure, many lost forever. It's remarkable how beautiful the limited color range (no yellow, no pure blue, no pure green or red) could be in skillful hands. Biographical details on many of the original Technicolor team are a real plus; there were many men (and a few women) involved in addition to the famous names like Kalmus. Completely new to me were the details here of the business side of Technicolor; the relentless promotion needed to keep the expensive and quite imperfect two-color process alive in the face of competing technology, studio indifference and some outright hostility to the idea of color movies. What's missing here is the kind of granular technical detail to be found in Roderick T. Ryan's "The History of Motion Picture Color Technology," published in 1977. Ryan goes into specifics of camera mechanics, filter bandwidths, film spectral sensitivity and color dye sets that's missing here. Alas, Ryan's own book on Technicolor was never completed. 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