<P> The first color cinematography was by additive color systems such as the one patented by Edward Raymond Turner in 1899 and tested in 1902 . A simplified additive system was successfully commercialized in 1909 as Kinemacolor . These early systems used black - and - white film to photograph and project two or more component images through different color filters . </P> <P> Around 1920, the first practical subtractive color processes were introduced . These also used black - and - white film to photograph multiple color - filtered source images, but the final product was a multicolored print that did not require special projection equipment . Before 1932, when three - strip Technicolor was introduced, commercialized subtractive processes used only two color components and could reproduce only a limited range of color . </P> <P> In 1935, Kodachrome was introduced, followed by Agfacolor in 1936 . They were intended primarily for amateur home movies and "slides". These were the first films of the "integral tripack" type, coated with three layers of differently color - sensitive emulsion, which is usually what is meant by the words "color film" as commonly used . The few color films still being made in the 2010s are of this type . The first color negative films and corresponding print films were modified versions of these films . They were introduced around 1940 but only came into wide use for commercial motion picture production in the early 1950s . In the US, Eastman Kodak's Eastmancolor was the usual choice, but it was often re-branded with another trade name, such as "WarnerColor", by the studio or the film processor . </P> <P> Later color films were standardized into two distinct processes: Eastman Color Negative 2 chemistry (camera negative stocks, duplicating interpositive and internegative stocks) and Eastman Color Positive 2 chemistry (positive prints for direct projection), usually abbreviated as ECN - 2 and ECP - 2 . Fuji's products are compatible with ECN - 2 and ECP - 2 . </P>

When did the first colour film come out