A Matter of Life and Death

The greatest directing duo in history elevates love and death to cosmic dimensions. Screening as part of the Collective Cinema Festival.

1946, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

United Kingdom
104 minutes, English with Russian and Hungarian subtitles

Starring: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring

British pilot Peter Carter crashes over the English Channel on his way home. The plane is on fire, the parachute is damaged, and the only person who hears the SOS signal is June, the US Army radio operator. Her voice is meant to comfort the pilot in his final moments, but Peter does not die: he wakes up on a deserted beach and soon holds June in his arms. However, his rescue is a mistake made in heaven, and higher powers rush to put things right.

Still from A Matter of Life and Death, 1946

One of the most audacious films ever made—in its grandiose vision, and in the cozy English way it’s expressed.

—Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com

The history of cinema has hardly ever seen such a seamless directorial partnership as that formed by the Briton Michael Powell and the Hungarian Emeric Pressburger over nearly two decades and 20 productions. A Matter of Life and Death is perhaps the duo’s most exemplary work. With its fantastical plot, epic scope, and sense of humour, the film feels like a universe driven by the same desire for mutual understanding that its creators possessed.