33° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
JULIEN TEMPLE - MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH
by Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Country: UK
Year: 1946
Duration: 104'
Squadron leader Peter Carter is alone in a blazing plane over the English Channel and is about to bail out without a parachute. During what he feels are his last moments Peter confides to June, a young American WAC his thoughts on love and poetry. Then he jumps, falling through the fog into the sea and is washed ashore. He appears to be unhurt and by some strange coincidence meets the WAC and falls in love. Carter has actually suffered severe concussion and he experiences strange hallucinations in which he sees characters from the Other World. Peter is treated by a brain surgeon Dr Reeves for his headaches. After the doctor is killed in an accident Peter undergoes a serious brain operation. Meanwhile Dr Reeves reappears in a courtroom and is appointed Counsel for the Defence, in a strange trial for Peter’s life.
Biography
film director
Michael Powell
Michael Powell (Bekesbourne, UK, 1905 - Avening, UK, 1990) started his collaboration with Emerich Pressburger (Miskolc, Hungary, 1902 - Saxstead, UK, 1988) in 1939. In 1943 they formed their own production company, Archers Film Productions. They made nineteen films together, such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). The Archers Film Productions came to an end in 1957 and the pair separated to pursue their individual careers (Powell in 1960 directed Peeping Tom) but they remained devoted friends for the rest of their lives.
FILMOGRAFIA
Michael Powell:
Two Crowded Hours (mm, 1931), My Friend the King (mm, 1931), Rynox (mm, 1931), The Rasp (mm, 1931), The Star Reporter (mm, 1931), Hotel Splendide (mm, 1932), C.O.D. (1932), His Lordship (1932), Born Lucky (1932), The Fire Raisers (1933), The Night of the Party (1933), Red Ensign (Vessillo rosso, 1934), Something Always (1934), The Girl in the Crowd (mm, 1934), Lazybones (1935), The Love Test (1935), The Phantom Light (1935), The Price of a Song (1935), Someday (1935), Her Last Affaire (1936), The Brown Wallet (1936), Crown V. Stevens (1936), The Man Behind the Mask (1936), The Edge of the World (Ai confini del mondo, 1937), The Spy in Black (La spia in nero, 1939), The Lion Has Wings (Leoni dell’aria, doc., 1939), Contraband (Contrabbando, 1940), The Thief of Bagdad (coregia/codirector Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Il ladro di Bagdad, 1940), An Airman’s Letter to His Mother (cm, 1941), 49th Parallel (Gli invasori/49° parallelo, 1941), One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (Volo senza ritorno, 1942), The Sorcerer’s Apprendice (cm, 1955), Honeymoon (1959), Peeping Tom (L’occhio che uccide, 1960), The Queen’s Guards (Le guardie della Regina, 1961), Never Turn Back On a Friend (mm, tv, 1963), A Free Agent (mm, tv, 1964), The Bluebeard’s Castle (1964), The Sworn Twelve (mm, tv, 1965), A 398 46 (mm, tv, 1965), They’re a Weird Mob (Sono strana gente, 1966), Age of Consent (L’età del consenso, 1968), The Boy Who Turned Yellow (Il ragazzo che diventò giallo, 1972), Return to the Edge of the World (tv, 1978).
Michael Powell, Emerich Pressburger:
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Duello a Berlino, 1943), The Volunteer (Il volontario, 1943), A Canterbury Tale (Un racconto di Canterbury, 1944), I Know Where I’m Going (So dove vado, 1945), Black Narcissus (Narciso nero, 1947), The Red Shoes (Scarpette rosse, 1948), The Small Back Room (1949), Gone to Earth (La volpe, 1950), The Elusive Pimpernel (L’inafferrabile Primula Rossa, 1950), The Tales of Hoffmann (I racconti di Hoffmann, 1951), Oh... Rosalinda!! (id., 1955), The Battle of the River Plate (La battaglia di Rio della Plata, 1956), Ill Met by Moonlight (Colpo di mano a Creta, 1956). Emerich Pressburger
Michael Powell (Bekesbourne, UK, 1905 - Avening, UK, 1990) started his collaboration with Emerich Pressburger (Miskolc, Hungary, 1902 - Saxstead, UK, 1988) in 1939. In 1943 they formed their own production company, Archers Film Productions. They made nineteen films together, such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), Black Narcissus (1947), Red Shoes (1948) and The Tales of Hoffmann (1951). The Archers Film Productions came to an end in 1957 and the pair separated to pursue their individual careers (Powell in 1960 directed Peeping Tom) but they remained devoted friends for the rest of their lives.
FILMOGRAFIA
Emeric Pressburg:
Twice Upon a Time (C’era una volta…, 1953)
Twice Upon a Time (C’era una volta…, 1953)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Duello a Berlino, 1943), The Volunteer (Il volontario, 1943), A Canterbury Tale (Un racconto di Canterbury, 1944), I Know Where I’m Going (Io so dove vado, 1945), A Matter of Life and Death (Scala al Paradiso, 1946), Black Narcissus (Narciso Nero, 1947), The Red Shoes (Scarpette rosse, 1948), The Small Back Room (I ragazzi del retrobottega, 1949), Gone to Earth (La volpe, 1950), The Elusive Pimpernel (L’inafferrabile Primula Rossa, 1950), The Tales of Hoffmann (I racconti di Hoffmann, 1951), Oh… Rosalinda!! (id., 1955), The Battle of the River Plate (La battaglia di Rio de la Plata, 1956), Ill Met by Moonlight (Colpo di mano a Creta, 1957).
Cast
& Credits
regia, soggetto, sceneggiatura/directors, story, screenplay
Michael Powell, Emerich Pressburger
fotografia/cinematography
Jack Cardiff
montaggio/film editing
Reginald Mills
scenografia/production design
Alfred Junge
costumi/costume design
Hein Heckroth
musica/music
Allan Gray
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
David Niven (Peter Carter), Kim Hunter (June), Marius Goring (la guida/conductor), Roger Livesey (Dr Reeves), Robert Coote (Bob), Kathleen Byron (Angel), Richard Attenborough (il pilota inglese/English pilot), Raymond Massey (Abraham Farlan)
produzione/production
The Archers
Michael Powell, Emerich Pressburger
fotografia/cinematography
Jack Cardiff
montaggio/film editing
Reginald Mills
scenografia/production design
Alfred Junge
costumi/costume design
Hein Heckroth
musica/music
Allan Gray
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
David Niven (Peter Carter), Kim Hunter (June), Marius Goring (la guida/conductor), Roger Livesey (Dr Reeves), Robert Coote (Bob), Kathleen Byron (Angel), Richard Attenborough (il pilota inglese/English pilot), Raymond Massey (Abraham Farlan)
produzione/production
The Archers
