A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) poster & wallpaper
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David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey ... see more see more... , Richard Attenborough , Robert Atkins , Kathleen Byron , Bonar Colleano , Joan Maude , Edwin Max , Robert Coote , Betty Potter , Bob Roberts , Abraham Sofaer , Robert Arden , Tom Duggan , Wally Patch , Jerry Andrus

Also known as Stairway to Heaven, A Matter of Life and Death is the remarkable British fantasy film that became the surprise hit of 1946. David Niven stars as Peter Carter, a World War II RAF pilot wh... read more read more...o is forced to bail out of his crippled plane without a parachute. He wakes up to find he has landed on Earth utterly unharmed...which wasn't supposed to happen according to the rules of Heaven. A celestial court argues over whether or not to claim Carter's life or to let him survive to wed his American sweetheart (Kim Hunter). During an operation, in which Carter hovers between life and death, he dreams that his spirit is on trial, with God (Abraham Sofaer) as judge and Carter's recently deceased best friend (Roger Livesey) as defense counsel. The film tries to have it both ways by suggesting that the heavenly scenes are all a product of Carter's imagination, but the audience knows better. Among the curious but effective artistic choices in A Matter of Life and Death was the decision to film the earthbound scenes in Technicolor and the Heaven sequences in black-and-white. The film was a product of the adventuresome team known as "The Archers": Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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19 critics

PG, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell

Release Date: November 1, 1946

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DVD Release Date: June 24, 2008

Stats: 645 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (645)

  • axadntpron
    December 1, 2011
    axadntpron
    A lament for the dead and an exquisite fairy tale for the living. I would have loved to have been a Brit in the time when this movie was released. Rarely do you see such national pride on display with such heart and such technical majesty that you forgive the moments that could b... read moree seen as pro-west propaganda.
  • JonathanHutchings
    November 12, 2011
    JonathanHutchings
    Yet another magnificent, beautiful film from the Archers. I'm starting to run out of ways to properly convey the genius of Powell/Pressburger's ouerve. A Matter of Life and Death just continues to prove that their canon is truly one of cinema's greatest treasures. Their visual im... read moreagination knows no bounds -- every frame is filled with fantastically bold compositions. The "reverse Wizard of Oz" decision to switch between the bold colors of "the real world" to the stark black and white of "the other world" is ingenious, showing us visually just how much more vibrant life can be. The final court scene is also fantastic, as the judge and jury descend the stairway to heaven to hold court over Peter (David Niven)'s operation.

    As customary with any Archers film, the performances are spot on (Roger Livesey being a standout), and the romantic energy of the film is endearing. A Matter of Life and Death is all about the power of love and just how important life is -- a pedestrian theme by any measure, but displayed and argued with incredible conviction. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is reason enough to watch the film alone (he puts on a clinic). The way he lights Kim Hunter's face makes her all the more beautiful, and who else can make a simple things such as a game of table tennis look exciting? And the sound design is also impeccable; the way the sound mutes at vital points was a decision way ahead of its time.

    This is a true classic that can restore anyone's faith in cinema. Under appreciated on its initial release and by today's audiences, which is nothing short of a tragedy.
  • matertenebraum
    February 10, 2011
    matertenebraum
    To me A Matter of Life and Death is just that- simply the best film ever made.

    From beginning to end it oozes class. It is stimulating, thought provoking, a mirror to the post war world and the relations between peoples.

    The cinematography is simply stunning and the effect of m... read moreixing monochrome and Technicolour to accent the different worlds works seamlessly. The characters and plot development are near perfect and the attention to detail promotes a thoroughly believable fantasy.

    No matter how many times I watch the film - and I have watched it a lot - it never fails to touch me. It makes me smile, it makes me laugh, it makes me think, it makes me cry. It is as fresh today as it was in 1946.

    If I were allowed just one film to keep and watch again A Matter of Life and Death would be that film.
  • SirPant
    October 1, 2009
    SirPant
    A really jolly good film that makes me feel proud to be British! David Niven heads a great cast in this odd but fantastic classic that has been fondly borrowed from and blatantly ripped off ever since!
  • harrycaul
    September 21, 2007
    harrycaul
    The most beautiful, imaginative and ambitious fantasy film ever made. Everyone should see it. Originally commissioned to improve Anglo-American relations at the tail end of WWII!
  • lesleyanorton
    March 19, 2010
    lesleyanorton
    Jolly good stiff upper lip British black and white, as David Niven argues with a heavenly court about his right to return to earth. HIs logic - an angel messed up and grabbed him too early and then he went and fell in love immediatly on the "borrowed" time he shouldn't have got. ... read moreApparently David Niven knew he was going to marry his second wife the second he first met her, so love at first sight can happen. Not sure about the celestial buraucracy though.
  • jackamaku
    July 11, 2009
    jackamaku
    David Niven is a WWII pilot who should have died when his plane went down, and has to convince a jury in the afterlife to let him have a pass on death to stay with the new found love of his life. Some fantastic cinematography (of course) and some very inventive set pieces and ah... read moreead-of-its-time special effects. Also of note, a great performance by Roger Livesey as the doctor trying to save him.
  • mingsysar
    January 6, 2009
    mingsysar
    The only war film I will ever watch again, apart from The Great Escape. Powell and Pressburger's best film. The ultimate British film in my opinion. I love the whole idea, premise and message behind it. It was initially designed to aid relations between the Americans and the Brit... read moreish, but it ended up as a heavenly (in more ways than one) argument as to which of the two nations were better. The outcome doesn't matter though. The romance between Niven's British pilot and Hunter's American communications officer becomes superfluous in the wake of the portrayal of the technicolour real world and the sepia-toned heaven, the fantastic less than angelic characters he meets, the great debate, the typically English humour and I still don't know if it was all in his head, literally, or if it was real. But that all doesn't matter, because this isn't just a film, it's a historical document, it's war propoganda, it's a symbol of the British bulldog spirit, it's an evocation of the golden age of cinema and it's a philosophical treatise on the nature of life and death. Look out for the Attenborough cameo.
  • littlecharmer1959
    September 3, 2008
    littlecharmer1959
    They don't make films like this anymore. David Niven is the fighter pilot who falls in love with Kim Hunter in his final few minutes, yet his angel of death misses him so he appeals for his chance to live.
    Earth is portrayed in rich technicolour while the afterlife is monochrom... read moree. A beautiful, ahead of it's time fantasy by Powell & Pressburger. A must see.
  • DrLappos
    May 21, 2008
    DrLappos
    I absolutely love this movie. The court case is brilliant. I would buy it if I could get my hands on it.

View All A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

What today's audiences will find amazing is the sheer energy of its invention. Full Review

Christopher Lloyd
November 8, 2010
Christopher Lloyd, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Although it's undeniably a great-looking film, I just found A Matter of Life and Death to be too harebrained to take seriously as a piece of important cinema. Full Review

Aaron Cutler
September 19, 2010
Aaron Cutler, Slant Magazine

Though the writer-directors and the actors may be the first names you notice, the cameraman also helped A Matter of Life and Death become one of the most moving movies ever made. Full Review

Christopher Null
February 22, 2009
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

The duo put so much care and love into the film that in the end we know they're right: Love really is the greatest of all virtues. Full Review

Felix Gonzalez Jr.
February 9, 2009
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review

In spite of its thematic bleakness, A Matter of Life and Death succeeds in being a sparkling fantasy picture .... Full Review

Sean Axmaker
January 5, 2009
Sean Axmaker, Parallax View

(The filmmakers') creativity is both fantastic and organic, their imagery spellbinding and gorgeous, and their scripting clever and witty.

Steve Crum
March 2, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Pretty bizarre fantasy set in WWII era starring David Niven.

Dennis Schwartz
September 18, 2005
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A very pleasing fantasy film from the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
February 28, 2005
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

One of the most enchanting movies you'll ever have the pleasure to see. Full Review

Ken Hanke
December 4, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Probably Powell and Pressburger's best film.

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