US Title: Stairway to Heaven
UK • Drama/Fantasy/Romance/War • Year: 1946 – Running time: 104 mins
Languages: Engish/French/Russian
Synopsis:
We slip in this classic of post 2nd WW British cinema from two directors working together who were immensely inventive and influential. A fighter pilot miraculously escapes certain death and meets the girl of his dreams before heaven can rectify its mistake.
Showing in a 4K restoration from the BFI.
A Matter of Life and Death is the utterly unique, enduringly rich and strange romantic fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Peter Bradshaw (Guardian)
Directors/Writers: Michael Powell • Emeric Pressburger
One of our Aircraft is Missing (1942) / The Red Shoes (1948) / Tales of Hoffmann (1951) / The Battle of River Plate (1956)
Main Cast:
| David Niven | Peter Carter |
| Kim Hunter | June |
| Robert Coote | Bob Trubshaw |
| Kathleen Byron | An Angel |
| Richard Attenborough | An English Pilot |
| Bonar Colleano | An American Pilot |
| Marius Goring | Conductor 71 |
(for full cast list, additional technical information and reviews, please visit the A Matter of Life and Death/Stairway to Heaven pages in IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes)
CFC Film Notes
This masterpiece from 1946 came in the middle of a five-film run of classics for the producing/directing duo, including The Red Shoes and I Know Where I am Going.
Catching the spirit of a country just recovering from WW2, it tells the story of a British aviator who cheats death but then has to argue his case before a celestial court. To say that this is a basic synopsis of the plot is an understatement, as the narrative raises a lot of questions that leave the audience to ponder over for themselves. Is the heavenly encounter real, fantasy, or even a bit of both?
It does not matter as the film is enchanting, funny and so innovative that the viewer is left breathless. From the inventive, simply beautiful start through to the homage to Strauss in the celestial world (Pressburger longed to make a version of Der Rosenkavalier), the visuals and script are nearly faultless, making for a unique viewing experience.
Michael Powell always stated that this was his personal favourite of the films he made, and it is not hard to see why.