The Film (5/5)

    Peter Carter is a U.K. fighter pilot in World War II who finds himself in a plane that is on fire and crashing to the ground. In his potential final moments, he radios his last thoughts to June (Kim Hunter), and mentions that he is about to jump from the plane without a parachute so he doesn't burn in the inferno that is to come. During their brief conversation he tells June, that she sounds like a woman that he could have fallen in love with, and before the end of the conversation, she espouses her love for him.

     Peter, the next morning wakes up on a beach, and thinks it is Heaven. He is soon to find out that he is indeed still alive and very well. He meets June, and the pair do fall in love, quite quickly, but that is not the end of their story. As it turns out, Peter has escaped his fate, and must go on trial to prove that he deserves more time on Earth, which he now desires more than ever having met June and fallen deeply in love.

   A Matter of Life and Death is the sixth film by Powell and Pressburger under the Archers Productions name. It is a stone cold classic, and one of the most gorgeous and romantic films ever created. It is also a defining film of British cinema. The film blends lush and colorful Technicolor visuals with lightly rendered black and white cinematography to create something quite unique for the period. The color moments are to show the liveliness and beauty of life on Earth, while the black and white moments show the sterility and lack of liveliness of the afterlife.

    A Matter of Life and Death in employing these techniques ends up becoming a true romantic fantasy film and a precursor of so many films in the coming decades. The cinematographer from Jack Cardiff (The African Queen) is truly stunning, and helps bring the visuals to life. While the performances by the main cast are absolutely fantastic, truly fitting to their roles, and really help channel the romantic atmospherics of the film.

Audio/Video (5/5)

    A Matter of Life and Death is presented by Criterion in a splendid 1:37:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer preserving the OAR of the film. I watched this on my 100" screen with a 1080p projector and my jaw was on the floor the entire time. Colors were lush, detail was excellent, the black and white moments had stable contrast. I had zero complaints against this one. Perfect.

    Audio is handled by an LPCM mono track in English. Everything here sounds quite solid, crisp and clear, again no issues.

Extras (4/5)

    We get an excellent commentary by Ian Christie, a commentary by Martin Scorsese, a piece with Powell's widow, famed editor, Thelma Schoonmaker. There are also lots of additional featurettes, and interviews regarding the film and its production.

Overall

    A Matter of Life and Death is a true timeliness classic, and the Blu-ray restoration by Criterion is a true thing of beauty. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.