A Matter of Life and Death by Ian Christie

A dazzling fantasy produced in the aftermath of World War Two, "A Matter of Life and Death" (1946), released in the US as "Stairway to Heaven", is one of the greatest achievements of co-directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Starring David Niven as an RAF pilot poised between life and death the film is a haunting meditation on love, grief and the legacy of war. This book looks in detail at the making of the film as well as locating it in the broadest traditions of British art.