Movie #201: A Matter of Life and Death

Movie #: 201
Movie Title: A Matter of Life and Death
Year Released: 1946

Director: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Notable Cast: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring, Raymond Massey

Short Description: A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists

AFI.com: N/A
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: #75
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 7/19/2013

What I Liked: I thought the premise of a man who avoids death and then has to argue for continued life when death catches up to him was different and entertaining. The actual courtroom scene where Peter Carter's British lawyer and friend Doctor Reeves had to present Peter's case against a Revolution-era American prosecutor was the most entertaining part of the movie and it's when Roger Livesey really shined as an actor.

What I Disliked: I understand this is an old movie and special effects aren't going to be great, but it looks like a child came up with some of these. The Wizard of Oz is seven years older and it had effects that look light-years ahead of the ones in A Matter of Life and Death, specifically when you are supposed to be looking at outer space and when time freezes but if you look closely at the people, you can see they don't always stand perfectly still.

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)
Rationale: A nice try but ultimately the movie falls a bit short of living up to its nifty sounding premise.