A Matter of Life and Death
Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!
Country
Production
Budget
$450 000
Box office
$1 750 000
Director
Actors
David Niven, Kim Hunter, Roger Livesey, Marius Goring, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough, Bonar Colleano, Joan Maude, Robert Atkins
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Audition
Pat MacDonnell, Adele Raymond
Editing
Short description
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.
What's left behind the scenes
- It took 3 months and £3,000 to create the enormous escalator connecting our world to the fictional one. It had 106 steps, each 6 meters wide, and was powered by a 12 horsepower engine.
- The first scene filmed was the one where David Niven's character (1910-1983) bathes on the shore. Initially, the idea was for the scene to emerge from an initially black background, but director Michael Powell (1905-1990) didn't like this concept. Then, cinematographer Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) asked him to look at the scene through the camera lens and deliberately exhaled on it, fogging it up for a moment, but the breath evaporated after a few seconds, and the lens cleared. Powell liked this very much, and this technique was used in the film.
- Director Michael Powell saw then-unknown actress Kim Hunter (1922-2002) during a visit to Hollywood in 1945 and immediately decided to cast her as June, largely following the recommendations of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), who had recently been auditioning actors for his upcoming film 'Notorious' (1946), and where she had participated in screen tests. The problem was that Hunter herself wasn't visible on screen during these tests; only her voice was heard, as she was simply prompting lines to the actors directly involved in the auditions. Hitchcock assured Powell that he would arrange a personal meeting with Hunter and her agent so that he could decide for himself if she was suitable for the role of David Niven's screen partner. After the very first meeting with Hunter, the director decided that she was indeed perfectly suited for the part.
- The source of inspiration for the situation concerning Peter's health was the semi-autobiographical novel by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy (1887-1938) 'Round-Trip to Jerusalem' (1937). More detailed information was obtained through one of the directors and screenwriters, Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988), spending time at the British Library and consulting with Michael Powell's brother, who worked as a plastic surgeon in London.
- The mechanisms of the giant escalator made such a racket that all sounds in the corresponding scenes had to be added during post-production.
- The original title translates as "A Question of Life and Death".
- The very first scene filmed was the one in which David Niven's (1910-1983) character washes himself on the shore. It was originally intended that the viewer would see the scene emerge from a completely black background, but director Michael Powell (1905-1990) did not like the idea. Cinematographer Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) then asked him to look at the scene through the camera lens and intentionally breathed on the lens, causing it to fog up for a moment; after a few seconds, the breath evaporated, and the lens cleared. Powell loved this, and this exact technique was used in the film.
- Director Michael Powell saw the then-unknown actress Kim Hunter (1922-2002) during a visit to Hollywood in 1945 and immediately decided to cast her as June. He did this primarily based on the recommendations of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), who had recently been casting for the upcoming film 'Notorious' (1946), for which she had screen-tested. The only problem was that Hunter herself had not appeared on screen during those tests; only her voice was heard, as she had simply been prompting the actors who were actually performing the screen tests. Hitchcock assured Powell that he would arrange a personal meeting with Hunter and her agent, so that Powell could decide for himself if she was suitable as the on-screen partner for David Niven. Upon their first meeting, the director decided that she was indeed perfect for the role.
- The inspiration for Peter's health condition came from the semi-autobiographical novel 'Journey Around My Own Skull' (1937) by the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy (1887-1938). More detailed information was gathered through the research of one of the directors and screenwriters, Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988), at the British Library, as well as consultations with Michael Powell's brother, who worked as a plastic surgeon in London.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
