A Matter of Life and Death

[Moraldo Rubini]

I just discovered that TCM will play this fantastic Powell/Pressburger film Sunday, October 21, 2007 10:00 AM. An inauspicious time slot for this fine work; this deserves a prime time slot! I'm very excited at the prospect though: not only is it one of my all-time favorites, but TCM promises to show the long-awaited fully restored version. I'm hoping this means that a DVD set (for the U.S. region) will be released soon.

Also known as Stairway to Heaven, this is the fantastical tale of an RAF pilot who "cheats death" (David Niven), and must attend a heavenly court trial to decide on his fate. This movie not only reignited Niven's career, but solidified Kim Hunter's after having been featured in Powell/Pressburger's moving A Canterbury Tale the previous year.

I highly recommend this!

[feaito]

I enjoyed this wonderful film thanks to the kindness of a French friend. It is a superlative movie and the print was very good.

[MikeBSG]

This is one of my favorite Powell and Pressburger films. The way the plot is put together is ingenious, and the romance is handled wonderfully. I don't think there is a bad performance in the whole film.

[Jezebel38]

but TCM promises to show the long-awaited fully restored version. I'm hoping this means that a DVD set (for the U.S. region) will be released soon.

Moraldo - I couldn't find anything on TCM's site about them showing the restored version - do you have some inside info? I read on another site the delay in the U.S.release is that they are still waiting for Martin Scorcesse's contribution to the "extras" on the DVD.

[Moraldo Rubini]

Moraldo - I couldn't find anything on TCM's site about them showing the restored version - do you have some inside info? I read on another site the delay in the U.S.release is that they are still waiting for Martin Scorcesse's contribution to the "extras" on the DVD.

Here's the link to the article on the TCM site.

And here's the main paragraph regarding the restoration:

Like most original Technicolor film negatives, A Matter of Life and Death was in serious need of restoration several years after its original release. Luckily the British Film Institute agreed to perform some restoration work on it in 1995 and their subsequent work convinced them to completely restore the entire feature with the financial assistance of Sony Pictures. According to Cathie Christie in an article on the restoration, "They discovered that when the original film was edited the three strips [of Technicolor] were slightly out of alignment. Although this was less of the problem in 1946, it became more of a problem in 1999 when in addition to the misalignment, the technicians found that the three strips had shrunk in the ensuing 50 plus years. Adding to the challenge was the fact that each strip had shrunk at a different rate....The team was further tested, surprisingly, by the black and white sequences. There was no original black and white negative from the film, which was apparently cut together with duplicate negatives. The delicate process involved shooting a new positive of the black and white with black and white film stock. From the positive three separate fine grain negatives were made. The team then discovered that the original black & white negative had its own set of defects which transferred to the three newly printed negatives. However, not all the negatives had inherited the same defects. It became clear that it was impossible to cut the three new negatives together because of the varied defects, and in the end they chose the best of three b&w negatives and cut it into the new film." After all the extensive restoration, A Matter of Life and Death now looks as glorious and as striking as it did in 1946.

[Jezebel38]

Thanks for the link! FYI, when one searches the site for AMOLAD, you get zero results - when one searches for Stairway to Heaven you get this article!

[Moraldo Rubini]

Thanks for the link! FYI, when one searches the site for AMOLAD, you get zero results - when one searches for Stairway to Heaven you get this article!
I read on another site the delay in the U.S.release is that they are still waiting for Martin Scorcesse's contribution to the "extras" on the DVD.

Must be TCM's pro-American stance; they're using the U.S. title. You'd think there'd be a cross-reference with the more widely used title though...

The European DVD of this movie features a document about Powell/Pressburger's cinematographer Jack Cardiff...

[benwhowell]

I remember Scorsese mentioning something about working on the restoration of "The Red Shoes." (I think it was with his Oscar acceptance speech for "The Departed.") Anyone heard anything about that?

[Mr. Arkadin]

Don't forget Ramond Massey as Aberham Farlan, the American lawyer. He almost steals the film here and would have for sure if he'd gotten more lines.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

I completely agree with you concerning Raymond Massey, Mr. Arkadin.
He just kept finding ways to make his part grander and more incendiary.

This was the first time I had ever seen this film and I was mesmerized by the script, the black and white sequences mixed with color, the ideas of life and death prevalent at the time the film was made, and the naturalness of the character's responses.

What an enjoyable trip into the past....and the future.