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A Matter of Life and Death

A Matter of Life and Death

Romance · Fantasy · Drama · 1946

A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.

Movie details

A Matter of Life and Death

“Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!”

1946 Romance · Fantasy · Drama 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.7 / 10

Community rating

A British wartime aviator who cheats death must argue for his life before a celestial court, hoping to prolong his fledgling romance with an American girl.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over A Matter of Life and Death?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Powell · Emeric Pressburger

Written by

Michael Powell · Emeric Pressburger

David Niven

David Niven

Peter Carter

Kim Hunter

Kim Hunter

June

Roger Livesey

Roger Livesey

Doctor Reeves

Marius Goring

Marius Goring

Conductor 71

Robert Coote

Robert Coote

Bob Trubshawe

Kathleen Byron

Kathleen Byron

An Angel

Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough

An English Pilot

Court is in session

Put A Matter of Life and Death on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.