A Matter of Life and Death (film)

A Matter of Life and Death
UK cinema poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Michael Powell
  • Emeric Pressburger
Produced by
  • Michael Powell
  • Emeric Pressburger
Starring
Narrated byJohn Longden
CinematographyJack Cardiff
Edited byReginald Mills
Music byAllan Gray
Production
companies
Distributed byEagle-Lion Films (UK)
Release dates
  • 1 November 1946 (1946-11-01) (UK premiere)
  • 15 December 1946 (1946-12-15) (UK general)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget£320,000 (est.) or £650,000[2][3] or £257,000[4]
Box office$1,750,000 (US)[5]

A Matter of Life and Death is a 1946 British fantasy-romance film set in England during World War II.

Written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the film stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring. The film was originally released in the United States under the title Stairway to Heaven, which derived from the film's most prominent special effect: a broad escalator linking Earth to the afterlife.

In 1999, A Matter of Life and Death placed 20th on the British Film Institute's list of Best 100 British films.[6] It ranked 90th in The Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012[7] poll, regarded by some as the most authoritative in the world, and 78th in 2022.[8]

  1. ^ "A Matter of Life and Death (1946)". Bfi. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 23 February 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  2. ^ Macnab 1993, p. 192.
  3. ^ "Kinematograph Year Book 1949". Kinematograph Publications, Ltd. 6 July 1949 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ Kevin Macdonald (1994). Emeric Pressburger: The Life and Death of a Screenwriter. Faber and Faber. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-571-16853-8.
  5. ^ Variety (December 1947).
  6. ^ "Best 100 British films - full list". BBC News. 23 September 1999. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Votes for A Matter of Life and Death (1946)". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  8. ^ "The Greatest Films of All Time". BFI.