Matter of Life and Death, A
- Alternative title
- Stairway to Heaven
- Synopsis
- A British wartime aviator who cheats death by miraculously surviving bailing out of his plane without a parachute must argue for his life before a celestial court. Fantasy film, ostensibly produced with the intention of improving Anglo-American relations after the war. A key sequence features a rehearsal of an amateur production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Pyramus and Thisbe scene (V i). Two lovers trying to communicate and being restrained by an imaginary wall echoes one of the film’s major themes.
'A glittering wartime fantasia...it ranks among the greatest films ever made, a shimmering jewel in the crown of British cinema’ (The Guardian, 2019). - Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Film
- Technical information
- Black-and-white / Sound
- Year of release
- 1945
- Duration
- 103 mins; 9,346 feet
Credits
- Director
- Emeric Pressburger; Michael Powell
- Producer
- Emeric Pressburger; Michael Powell
- Cinematographer
- Jack Cardiff
- Screenplay
- Emeric Pressburger; Michael Powell
- Music
- Allan Gray
- Art Direction
- Alfred Junge
- Cast
David Niven Peter Carter Kim Hunter June Marius Goring Conductor 71 Raymond Massey Abraham Furlan Robert Atkins The Vicar Robert Coote Bob Roger Livesey Doctor Reeves
Additional Details
- Production type
- Fiction Films
- Plays
- Midsummer Night’s Dream, A
- Subjects
- Film studies
- Keywords
- cinema - UK; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Film history
Notes
- General
- Robert Atkins, the vicar organising the play’s production, was a noted Shakespearean actor appearing in HAMLET (1913) and THE TEMPEST (1956).
Archive
- Name
BFI National Archive
- Web
- http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
- Phone
- 020 7255 1444
- Fax
- 020 7436 0165
- Address
- 21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
Distributor (Sale)
- Name
Retail outlets
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Matter of Life and Death, A". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av36848 (Accessed 12 Nov 2024)