A Matter Of Life And Death (aka Stairway To Heaven) (1946)

During the waning days of WWII, a British bomber pilot (David Niven) flying over the English channel is scheduled to die when he jumps out of his plane (his parachute has been destroyed) but through an error, he survives. When the "guide" (Marius Goring) comes to escort him to the "other world", the pilot refuses to go because he has fallen in love with an American radio operator (Kim Hunter). A heavenly trial will decide his fate. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (although his contribution was more toward the producing and writing end). Shot in vivid three strip Technicolor with the color being removed from the heavenly sequences, this romantic fantasy is beloved by many. I quite enjoyed myself but honestly, I found the whole trial sequence which closes the movie quite tedious. The great cinematographer Jack Cardiff's contribution can not be underestimated and not only in the color portions of the film. Alfred Junge's production design (that stairway to heaven!) and Allan Gray's score are also important. I wished I liked it more but quite frankly, I infinitely prefer their darker and more complex BLACK NARCISSUS and THE RED SHOES to this piece of romantic whimsy. With Raymond Massey, Roger Livesey, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough and Abraham Sofaer.