A Matter of Life and Death
Synopsis
A magical tale from the twin geniuses Powell and Pressburger, made up of equal parts true love and metaphysics. "This is the universe," our narrator declares over a darkly twinkling cosmos. "Big isn’t it?" And with that perfect line, so begins one of the most unforgettable experiences in British film, with David Niven’s Second World War pilot Peter Carter falling to earth only to be found by June (Kim Hunter), a young American radio operator. In other hands, what follows could have been a simple wartime romance. Instead, it unfolds into an exquisitely comic celestial courtroom drama, with the guardians of the heavenly ‘next world’ staging a trial to decide if Peter should be summoned into the afterlife. Audaciously gliding between monochrome and Technicolor, this is a strange and lovely masterpiece. (LFF brochure)
Restored in 4K by Sony Pictures Entertainment
Official Selection BFI London FIlm Festival 2017 - Love Strand - 4K Restoration World premiere
Details
- Year
- 1946
- Type of film
- Features
- Running Time
- 104 mins
- Director
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Producer
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Editor
- Reginald Mills
- Screenwriter
- Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
- Director of Photography
- Jack Cardiff
- Production Designer
- Alfred Junge
- Music
- Allan Gray
- Principal Cast
- David Niven, Kim Hunter, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough
- Film Title
- AKA Stairway to Heaven (US)
Genre
Production status
Complete
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Last updated 28th September 2017
