Reviews of A Matter of Life and Death 1946
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Niven's first scene just tore me up. Amazing. The rest of the movie is great, but it never got better than that opening for me. And, that is just fine.
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A masterful and supremely entertaining war drama. Startlingly original, and undeniably suspenseful.
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PTAbro's World Tour Stop 2: United Kingdom
If I had to make a list of all-time great openings for films, A Matter of Life and Death would certainly be in the top 20. It's a bit of genius to start a film with the emotional and visual power of a scene that by all rights would be the climax of a lesser film. Niven immediately blew me away with the achingly cool banter he traded with June, and his demeanor…
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The magical and absolutely charming tale of an airman caught between life and death. While very much in the same vein of other famous film fantasies such as Harvey and It's A Wonderful Life, I'd say this Powell and Pressberger movie actually tops both of them. If you not seen this little delight of a film, do so now!
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Just about perfect. This film is quite the magical piece of art.
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Powell and Pressburger are two of the greatest filmmakers ever to grace this mortal coil, and this movie is a great reason why. Peter (David Niven, charisma exuding out of his pours), is a pilot who falls in love with an American radio operator named June (the lovely Kim Hunter) as his plane is going down, but the operative from Heaven fails to collect his soul, so he must prove to the rulers of the afterlife that he deserves to…
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Great film from the Archers just about perfect other than a few of the scenes in heaven that lost me.
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As my mini Archers-fest continues, I've now become accustomed to the phrase, "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that" creeping into my head during every one of their movies. The concept seems almost pointedly frivolous at first glance, perhaps accentuated by the cosmic-scale prologue: a Heaven Can Wait/Here Comes Mr. Jordan-like tale of a single mortal trying to prolong his time on earth because, well, he's fallen in love. Yes, the initial exchange between Niven's doomed pilot and Hunter's anxious radio…
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I had some bad news today (nothing life or death, just bad) and needed to rewatch one of my favourite films. So I rewatched the story of the man (played by the wonderful David Niven) who jumps from his stricken bomber in 1945 without a parachute, after one of the finest conversations between a plane's pilot and those on the ground, and seems not to have died.
He cheated death and that creates problems for the after-life as cheating death… -
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rules except for the courtroom part