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Critics Consensus: Stairway to Heaven is a ravishing, creative, and exciting fantasy.
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Critic Consensus: Stairway to Heaven is a ravishing, creative, and exciting fantasy.
All Critics (30) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (29) | Rotten (1) | DVD (4)
Bursts with tantalizing ideas, surprising connections, suggestive flights of fancy.
What today's audiences will find amazing is the sheer energy of its invention.
Roger Livesey is tremendous as Niven's formidable doctor - and heavenly advocate.
Typically for this team, the script champions individual rights over nationalist prejudices that endure beyond the grave.
The decision to shoot all of the Earth-bound scenes in Technicolor and all of the Heavenly interludes in black-and-white is just one of the many unexpected touches in this pleasing fantasy yarn.
... as gorgeous and rapturously romantic as movies come.
One of the most beloved British films ever is now even more lush, more gorgeous, more humanist in a glorious new restored edition.
A Matter of Life and Death is the utterly unique, enduringly rich and strange romantic fantasia from Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
It's basically an intellectual battle, held in an amphitheatre as large as a galaxy, about the right to life and the inherent tensions in US-UK political relations. In other words, essential viewing.
An enduring classic.
In short, a brilliant experiment which will probably be enjoyed by many and appreciated only by a few.
Beautifully directed, designed (especially the massive, working escalator that links Heaven and Earth), photographed and acted, it is a must-see for both classic and contemporary film buffs.
A lament for the dead and an exquisite fairy tale for the living. I would have loved to have been a Brit in the time when this movie was released. Rarely do you see such national pride on display with such heart and such technical majesty that you forgive the moments that could be seen as pro-west propaganda.
Super Reviewer
Yet another magnificent, beautiful film from the Archers. I'm starting to run out of ways to properly convey the genius of Powell/Pressburger's ouerve. A Matter of Life and Death just continues to prove that their canon is truly one of cinema's greatest treasures. Their visual imagination knows no bounds -- every frame is filled with fantastically bold compositions. The "reverse Wizard of Oz" decision to switch between the bold colors of "the real world" to the stark black and white of "the other world" is ingenious, showing us visually just how much more vibrant life can be. The final court scene is also fantastic, as the judge and jury descend the stairway to heaven to hold court over Peter (David Niven)'s operation. As customary with any Archers film, the performances are spot on (Roger Livesey being a standout), and the romantic energy of the film is endearing. A Matter of Life and Death is all about the power of love and just how important life is -- a pedestrian theme by any measure, but displayed and argued with incredible conviction. Jack Cardiff's cinematography is reason enough to watch the film alone (he puts on a clinic). The way he lights Kim Hunter's face makes her all the more beautiful, and who else can make a simple things such as a game of table tennis look exciting? And the sound design is also impeccable; the way the sound mutes at vital points was a decision way ahead of its time. This is a true classic that can restore anyone's faith in cinema. Under appreciated on its initial release and by today's audiences, which is nothing short of a tragedy.
To me A Matter of Life and Death is just that- simply the best film ever made. From beginning to end it oozes class. It is stimulating, thought provoking, a mirror to the post war world and the relations between peoples. The cinematography is simply stunning and the effect of mixing monochrome and Technicolour to accent the different worlds works seamlessly. The characters and plot development are near perfect and the attention to detail promotes a thoroughly believable fantasy. No matter how many times I watch the film - and I have watched it a lot - it never fails to touch me. It makes me smile, it makes me laugh, it makes me think, it makes me cry. It is as fresh today as it was in 1946. If I were allowed just one film to keep and watch again A Matter of Life and Death would be that film.
The most beautiful, imaginative and ambitious fantasy film ever made. Everyone should see it. Originally commissioned to improve Anglo-American relations at the tail end of WWII!
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