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A Matter of Life and Death U
Introduced by cinematographer Jack Cardiff who will be available for questions after the showing. SCREENINGS 7.30pm Monday 22 May 2006 Set during World War II, Peter Carter (David Niven) is a RAF squadron leader pilot forced to bail out of his burning plane, after returning from a bombing raid in Germany. In a radio communication with June (Kim Hunter), an American radio operator stationed in England, he tells her he's going to bail out without a parachute: "I'd rather jump than fry.'' His brave words touch a chord and she mentions that she could "love a man like you". He's smitten by the sound of her concerned voice, and tells her he's fallen in love with her. Miraculously he falls to safety in the English Channel...
BBFC advice: Contains mild war horror
"One of Powell and Pressburger's finest films. Made at the instigation of the Ministry of Information, who wanted propaganda stressing the need for goodwill between Britain and America, it emerges as an outrageous fantasy full of wit, beautiful sets and Technicolor, and perfectly judged performances. The story is just a little bizarre. RAF pilot Niven bales out of his blazing plane without a chute and survives; but - at least in his tormented mind - he was due to die, and a heavenly messenger comes down to earth to collect him. A celestial tribunal ensues to judge his case while, back on earth, doctors are fighting for his life. What makes the film so very remarkable is the assurance of Powell's direction, which manages to make heaven at least as convincing as earth. (The celestial scenes are in monochrome, the terrestrial ones in colour: was Powell slyly asserting, in the faces of the British documentary boys, the greater realism of that which is imagined?) But the whole thing works like a dream, with many hilarious swipes at national stereotypes, and a love story that is as moving as it is absurd. Masterly." GA, Timeout
"...From poor beginnings - this film was meant to be a straight propaganda movie designed to ease the relationship between Britain and America - the movie becomes a glorious romance that is as poignant and exciting today as it was over fifty years ago.
Part of that is down to the taut writing and the excellent performances from David Niven and Kim Hunter. But perhaps most of it is because the film is replete with sheer and successful audacity. The most famous of which is the stairway to heaven, more an escalator really, in which Niven is unknowingly ascending. Just as effectively, the scenes in heaven are shot in an arty black and white while those on Earth are in an overwhelming colour. The film does betray its origins: you won't find too many German officers in this particular vision of heaven. But that dating aside, it's a marvel."
For Monday night Programme Notes click here
CAST David Niven, Kim Hunter, Robert Coote, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Richard Attenborough
DIRECTOR Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
RUNNING TIME 104 minutes
COUNTRY UK
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