A Matter of Life and Death
“Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!”
A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.
Details
Release Date: 12/15/1946
Runtime: 104 minutes
Languages: English, French, Russian
Directors: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
Budget: $0.5M
Revenue: $1.8M
Production
Companies: The Archers, J. Arthur Rank Organisation
Countries: United Kingdom
Where to watch · US
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Reviews
CinemaSerf
Jack Cardiff shows off the cinematographers art to beautiful effect in this Powell and Pressberger tale of a WWII pilot (David Niven) who cheats death, falls in love (with Kim Hunter) and then argues before a heavenly court why he should not have to die (yet) after all. The story is tinged with humour and pathos and poses some fairly basic "human rights" questions. Marius Goring - "Conductor 71" is slightly menacing and totally charming as he tries to persuade Niven to volunteer for his fate - a thankless task in itself. Roger Livesey is superb arguing for Niven with an equally impressive - if somewhat anti-English - Raymond Massey as his opponent. The stark contrast between the monochrome scenes on Earth and the vibrant colours of the celestial world bring much to this stylish, clever and at times almost dreamily presented joy.
