The Powell & Pressburger Pages Dedicated to the work of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and all the other people, both actors and technicians who helped them make those wonderful films. A lot of the documents have been sent to me or have come from other web sites. The name of the web site is given where known. If I have unintentionally included an image or document that is copyrighted or that I shouldn't have done then please email me and I'll remove it. I make no money from this site, it's purely for the love of the films. [Any comments are by me (Steve Crook) and other members of the email list]

Reviews of A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
aka Stairway to Heaven

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Hit the target for the haunting piano theme. Or you can hear the introduction "This is the Universe ..."

General reviews & articles :-

• Fascinating trivia (and any goofs) connected with the film
• All location & studio details known

• Contemporary Previews and Reviews

• Mysticism and Politics - Review from Kultura i Zhien (Culture and Life) No. 15 (1947)
• The view from Moscow - A Soviet perspective
  Comments on the above review from "Our Man in Moscow"

• The Royal Film Performance
• A Matter of Fried Onions A medical analysis of Peter D. Carter
• Michael Powell: Resurrecting a Cosmic Fantasy of Love and Death
• Review by Philip French (The Observer)
• Henry Coombs Reviews
• BBC Interview with Kim Hunter about AMOLAD
• A Norwegian review
  Translation of the Norwegian Review
• An impossible romance?
• Review by Anthony Antoniou (6Degrees)
• Classics of the Foreign Film
• TV Guide review
• The Onion Review
• Chicago Reader Review by Dave Kehr
• Restoration - "A Matter of Life and Death"
• Spanish review
• The AMOLAD Bus Station
• The AMOLAD Bus Station #2
• Reworking AMOLAD as a ballet Matthew Bourne's Cinderella
• The story in pictures
• AMOLAD on stage
• Alan Bennett on AMOLAD
• Statues on a Stairway - Eric Aumonier
• Comments about AMOLAD sent to the IMDb
• Review by James W. Travers

• Link to -> On the beach - on YouTube
• Link to -> On the stairway - on YouTube
• Link to -> Film-makers on film: Bertrand Tavernier
  Bertrand Tavernier talks to John Whitley about Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
• Link to -> BFI ScreenOnline
• Link to -> Review by Damian Cannon
• Link to -> Review by Roger Ebert
• Link to -> BBC Review
• Link to -> Review @ Edinburgh University Film Society
• Link to -> Norwegian Review
• Link to -> European Coordination of Film Festivals
  Jack Cardiff picks AMOLAD
• Link to -> Admiration of the film by Arun K. Barua
• Link to -> Notes from Channel 4
• Link to -> Betty's Wartime Diary
• Link to -> SciFilm Musings
• Link to -> EOFF TV Review
• Link to -> Blimp & AMOLAD
  A Review by Sarah Knight, University of Warwick
• Link to -> Must-have movies: A Matter of Life and Death
  A Review by Philip Horne
• Link to -> The prophet
  JG Ballard used to skip class to watch Michael Powell's extravagant, unsettling postwar movies
• Link to -> Script of AMOLAD (in French)
  Archive copy of script if web page above isn't available
• Link to -> The 1946 novelisation
• Link to -> "Trailer" at Virgin.net
  Actually just the first couple of minutes after the opening titles
  the tour of the galaxy and the start of Peter & June talking
• Link to -> Carlito Corway's AMOLAD pages

Was there really that much bad feeling between the British people and the American troops that it needed this film to help us like each other again? These articles give a few hints.

• Link to -> GIs in West End were led astray
• Link to -> Piccadilly Commandos

After 4 years of near starvation rations (OK, they were healthy, but they were hungry) and no frills, is it any wonder that the girls went chasing after the GIs? They must have been like people from another planet. They were fit and healthy, well paid and had a seemingly endless supply of lots of things that hadn't been seen here for years. The articles imply that it was only prostitutes and "wild girls" that went chasing GIs. I'm sure it wasn't. Just ask your Mum or Grandma.

Other productions:
There were versions of the story broadcast

• twice on Lux Theater (US Radio)
• Screen Director's Playhouse (US Radio)
• and even as a Live TV show

There was also a musical based on the film performed at the King's Head Theatre, Islington in 1994
There has also been a full stage production by the Kneehigh Company at the Olivier Theatre in May/June 2007
Link to -> E-Trailer for the National Theatre's production

Finally, in this section, a mention of a wickedly funny spoof made by Simon Pegg, Kevin Eldon, Mark Heap and Amelia Bullmore in their Big Train sketch show. It's done with a lot of knowledge about and obvious love of the film.
Link to -> AMOLAD spoof on YouTube

Reviews from the 1995 US release
In 1995, the film was re-released as Stairway to Heaven (A Matter of Life and Death).
Released by Columbia Pictures in association with Martin Scorsese.

• 1995 Press Release
  
  
• Daily News Dave Kehr: "It's Like Heaven on Earth"
• NY Post Thelma Adams: "One to die for"
• NY Times Janet Maslin: "Between Heaven and Earth"
• LA Times Kenneth Turan: "Powell's 'Stairway' Still Leads Somewhere"
• LA Weekly F.X. Feeney: "Film Pick of the Week"
• Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert: "Love Just May Conquer All in 1946's 'Stairway'"
  See also Ebert reviews on Sun-Times site
• Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington: "Screen imagery wins points for 'Stairway to Heaven'"
• San Francisco Examiner Scott Rosenberg: "'A Matter of Life and Death' still flies"
• San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann: "Festival's New Look at 1946 Powell Film"
  [Front page, Entertainment section + page 6]
• San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann: "Meaning of 'Life and Death'"

Reviews about the Video :-

• Notes from the video sleeve

Reviews about the Carlton DVD :-

• DVD - Carlton: The Silver Collection
• DVD Review by Max Pemberton
• Link to -> ChiaroScuro Review & DVD analysis
• Link to -> Comparison of Carlton & EPIX (German) DVDs by DVD Beaver

Reviews about the new print :-

• New Print of AMOLAD - Interview with Thelma
• New Print: Chips off the old Pressburger - Andrew & Kevin Macdonald
• New Print: BFI Information
• New print: A matter of joy and bliss - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
• BBC Review
• Review by Alexander Walker (Evening Standard)
• Review from BBC Bristol
• Review by Ian Johnston
• Review by Philip French, The Observer

Reviews about the Book :-

• Ian Christie's AMOLAD book

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• AMOLAD Village found!
  The village seen through Dr Reeves' camera obscura.
• Link to -> The Magic Mirror of Life
  An Appreciation of the Camera Obscura

• Steve's trip to Saunton Sands. The beach where Peter washed ashore and then met June.
• Carlito Corway's visit to Saunton Sands

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Pictures from the PaPAS Gallery

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Other P&P reviews