A dazzling romantic fantasy where love defies the laws of the universe. Vivid Technicolor life clashes with a pearlescent black-and-white afterlife, creating a cinematic masterpiece that celebrates the preciousness of existence.
A Matter of Life and Death
"Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!"
Director:
Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger
Cast:
David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring, Robert Coote
Drama
Fantasy
Comedy
Romance
Budget:
$450,000
Box Office:
$1,750,000
A Matter of Life and Death - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
The Archers Target
The film opens with the production logo of 'The Archers' (Powell & Pressburger) where an arrow hits a target. This transitions from B&W to color, foreshadowing the film's visual duality.
Fried Onions
The recurring mention of the smell of fried onions is a 'medical easter egg'—an olfactory hallucination that strongly supports the theory that the entire fantasy is a symptom of Peter's brain trauma.
Dr. Reeves' Chess Book
Conductor 71 borrows a chess book from Dr. Reeves. At the end, Peter finds this book in his pocket, a physical object that paradoxically suggests the 'hallucination' might have been real.