A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
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| An American poster with the film's altered name. |
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Following several years of living in fear of their homeland
possibly being struck at any time by foreign enemies, British movie audiences
are delivered a fantastical reprieve with a lighthearted tale of a soldier
literally facing death in the 1946 picture A
Matter of Life and Death. Written, directed, and produced by the
cinematically adventurous duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressurger, better
known as “The Archers,” this picture mixed the loss of war with a love story
while providing hints of unique British humor. The product resulted in what is
one of the top motion pictures in British cinema history.
A Matter of Life and
Death is a british romantic fantasy drama of an air force pilot called to a
celestial court where he must defend his right to live after he miraculously
survives a plane crash, oversight made by the afterlife that they hope to right.
British bomber captain Peter David Carter (David Niven) bails out from his
damaged bomber over the sea without a parachute and survives miraculously
unscathed. Soon after, Peter is confronted a celestial being only he is able to
see, known as Conductor 71 (Marius Goring), informing him that he is supposed
to have died and he is here to collect Peter’s soul. Peter argues that that
following his survival he had fallen in love with an American radio
servicewoman named June (Kim Hunter) and appeals that due to this he cannot now
be declared dead.
The otherworldly powers that be allow Peter to defend his
continued existence in a celestial court. Paralleling Peter’s afterlife
visions, on Earth his life-threatening head injury leads him to a risky brain
surgery, coinciding the surgery with the afterlife trial. The prosecution is
led by Abraham Farlan (Raymond Massey) the first American to die in the
Revolutionary War with a staunch bias against all British. To defend Peter is
Dr. Reeves (Roger Livesey), the intellectual physician who was caring Peter’s
brain injury before suffering a life claiming accident, joining his patient on
the other side, now understanding the reality of Peter’s visions. Reeves
defends Peter’s character, his love for June, and the character of Britain’s to
the anti-English prosecution as well as the jury complied of various Americans.
In the end, it is June, brought to the court under a dream state as a character
witness, who saves Peter, sacrificing herself for his own. The manifestation of
love sways the jury to believe that love allows Peter and June to continue
living on Earth.
The film is a wonderfully creative story with marvelous use
of the motion picture medium to a grand measure for its day. The filmmakers
utilizing great special effects, creative use of Technicolor, and memorable
performances from a talented cast to release one of the year’s very best
pictures. This is a case of employing the medium’s unique delivery of
storytelling to its fullest, producing a tale that could not be shared in such
magnificence anywhere else. Capturing the drama and earnestness of the time and
mixing in a form of fanciful whimsy of spirituality while parlaying any
connection to religion itself, creates a film that lasts the test of time
providing comedy, drama, and the feeling of awe in a singular picture.
The filmmaking partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric
Pressburger was a powerhouse of British cinematic creativity. Together known by
their production company name “The Archers,” the two were determined to bring
unique independent features that they controlled wholly and delivered with the
upmost quality that they stood by. Both shared time writing their films while
Powell tended to much of the actual directing and Pressburger focused on
logistics of producing. In their partnership, they chose to share their
credits, as if they were the cinematic Beatles of their day.
A Matter of Life and
Death speaks to how committed the filmmakers were to their product, sparing
no expense when it came to effectively delivering that which they felt best
served their films. From the beginning the production was delayed due to
limitations British cinema was enduring because of World War II. Three strip
Technicolor was being rationed in the United States, mostly utilized by
government instructional film, and the producers had to delay the start of
shooting until avenues opened for the color film shock to return to England.
Sets were elaborate for the production as well, including that of the vast divine
courtroom, as well as the large moving staircase from earth to the afterlife.
He large motorized moving staircase proved to be so loud on stage that all
dialogue had to be re-recorded afterwards, adding further cost to the picture.
Upon completion of principle photography, the filmmakers
decided on further differentiating the style of the “other world” from earth by
having the other side (I am carefully not using the word “heaven,” as the
filmmakers did so in avoiding beliefs in the picture) be presented in black and
white while Earth remained in color. With all scenes shot in Technicolor,
post-production delivered the style they wanted by only developing one of the
three color strip with a special process that avoided adding any color.
Utilizing technically one third of the definition of the high-quality Technicolor
process delivered not only the black and white image they desired, but created
a slight fuzziness to the gain s of the frames, delivering a dream-like hazy
characteristic that further added to these scenes.
Through the years The Archers had developed a regular stable
of actors that they preferred to work with in their productions. By utilizing
the same actors in their many films production was usually smoother and
sometimes quicker during principle photography. You may recognize Roger Livesey
and Raymond Massey as two of these such continually used cast members.
Livesey’s authoritative, yet compassionate delivery provides the characteristics
that make Dr. Reeves a very liable individual. Canadian born Raymond Massey
portrays the anti-British character, Abraham Farlan. Massey portrays well he
snickering and seething American character which pants the US in a bad light,
but eventually gives in to British-American relations through the idea of love.
Irony is the versatile Massey would become an American citizen shortly after
this picture.
The outside stars of the picture are the two that carry the
romance of the picture, David Niven and Kim Hunter. David Niven supports the
picture with a uniquely British class and drama that he does so well. Known
later in his career for playing the proper and many time snooty Englishman in
Hollywood films, Niven here balances the drama and romance as Peter, while being
able to dip into some dry humor from time to time. Kim Hunter was a surprise
for the filmmakers, discovering her with recommendation from fellow British
born filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock to Powell and Pressburger. The 23-year-old
actress was not the most elegant actress on screen, but the filmmakers were
looking for a more simple American actress that conveyed the simple American
qualities of a servicewoman that any British man would fall in love with. This
was Hunter’s first major movie role before going to Broadway for the next five
years.
The Matter of Life and
Death was a major motion picture for British audiences, being the first to
receive a royal premiere, an event where British royalty would attend and
proceeds for the event would be donated to a fund that supports British cinema.
Due to American distributors believing negative box office results from a movie
title with the word “death” in it, the title of the picture was charged in the
United States to Stairway to Heaven,
a reference to the significant set piece in the film. State side the picture
would bring in good numbers as well, resulting a in strong box office numbers
on both sides of the Atlantic.
Part of A Matter of
Life and Death’s brilliance derives from the film’s plot being open to interpretation.
The love story and court case is simple and entertaining by itself, but there
is not definitive answer to how Peter’s visions of the afterlife relate to him
in real life. Did Peter actually go visit the other side and prove his case for
living, or was it all a hallucination resulted from a brain injury that was
sured through his surgery? This is partially complicated due to the actor Abraham
Sofaer portraying Peter’s surgeon also portraying the otherworldly Judge. The
ultimate conclusion on the matter of what Peter envisioned being real or not
is left to the audience to interpret on their own. Both story structures work
and can become a great conversation piece among viewers of the picture.
A Matter of Life and
Death has held a strong respect in British cinema since its release in late
1946. For years, it remains on many top British film lists through the decades
to this day. Whether you know it as A
Matter of Life and Death, or as Stairway
to Heaven, it is a wonderful picture that is imaginative and beautifully
orchestrated, a must see for any classic film aficionado.
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