A Matter of Life and Death
Director: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell Run Time: 104 min. Rating: PG Release Year: 1946
Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring, Robert Coote, Roger Livesey
British Air Force pilot Peter Carter (David Niven) is on his way home to England from a World War II bombing mission in a badly damaged aircraft. Before he bails out of the plane into the ocean, he contacts June (Kim Hunter), an Allied radio operator with whom he shares what he believes to be his final moments on Earth. But Peter survives, finds June and they fall in love. A problem arises when a divine messenger (Marius Goring) arrives to escort Peter to heaven to rectify his wrongful survival.
“What today’s audiences will find amazing is the sheer energy of its invention.” ~ Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Sight & Sound Rank #78