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A Matter of Life and Death

459 votes

Producing House

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.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1946-12-15

Runtime: 104 mins

Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Spoken language: English, Français, Pусский

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Drama, Comedy

Original title: A Matter of Life and Death

Production Companies: The Archers, J. Arthur Rank Organisation

Production Countries: United Kingdom

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
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.
2022-07-07

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