Stars: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Richard Attenborough, Robert Coote, Bob Roberts, Robert Arden, Joan Maude, Kathleen Byron, Bob Roberts, Abraham Sofaer, Bonar Colleano, Richard Attenborough, Robert Atkins, Tommy Duggan, Edwin Max, Betty Potter

Director: Michael Powell

Summary: An RAF pilot ditches in the Channel during World War 2 and becomes caught between heaven and earth. Now considered a classic, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH ranks alonside directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's best films.

With his crew either dead or parachuted out, his craft in flames and falling fast, RAF bomber pilot Peter Carter bails out without a chute. His miraculous survival allows him to pursue a fortuitous romance with the radio operator with whom he shared what he thought were his last words. But agents in Heaven discover that a mistake was made -- and a celestial trial threatens to revoke Carter's new lease on life.

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Reviewed by: UpTilDawn
Posted on September 19, 2005 2:19 AM

This is one of the most moving pictures I've ever seen. David Niven is a fine actor and his co-star Kim Hunter is grand as well.

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Briefed by the Ministry of Information to make a film that would foster Anglo-American relations in the post-war period, innovative filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, came up with A Matter of Life and Death, an extravagant and extraordinary fantasy in which David Niven stars as a downed pilot who must justify his continuing existence to a heavenly panel because he has made the mistake of falling in love with an American girl (Kim Hunter) when he really should have been dead. National stereotypes are lampooned as the angelic judges squabble over his fate. In a neat reversal of expectations, the heaven sequences are black and white, while earth is seen in Technicolor. Daring cinematography mixes monochrome and colour, incorporates time-lapse images and even toys with background "time freezes" 50 years before The Matrix. Roger Livesey and Raymond Massey lead the fine supporting cast. This is one of the undoubted jewels of British cinema.

On the DVD:A Matter of Life and Deathis presented in reasonably sharp 4:3 ratio with decent mono sound. Aside from English hard-of-hearing subtitles there are no extras. --Mark Walker

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Behind The Scenes Commentary, Interactive Menu, Biographies, Scene Access
Year:	1946
Release Date:	September 14, 1998
Runtime:	100 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	37115 00033
Keywords:	Heaven, Death, Life, General, Matter, Romantic, Drama, Stairway
Genre:	Drama