A Matter of Life and Death (1946) – Filming Locations
Romance / Fantasy / Drama / Comedy · Directed by Michael Powell · Starring David Niven, Kim Hunter
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.
Where was A Matter of Life and Death filmed?
- London, United Kingdom, London – Peter Carter's initial scenes in wartime London and flashback sequences to his life on Earth. Powell and Pressburger filmed extensive location sequences throughout London to establish the film's earthly reality and contrast with the heavenly sequences
- Moor Park, United Kingdom, Moor Park – Exterior scenes of the celestial landing area and the grounds surrounding the heavenly realm sequences. The expansive golf club grounds provided an ideal setting for the otherworldly heavenly sequences with their distinctive visual composition
- Dorset, United Kingdom, Dorset – The beach where Peter Carter crashes and the opening sequences of his journey between life and death. The dramatic Dorset coastline was chosen for its striking visual beauty to represent the liminal space between Peter's earthly plane crash and his entry into the heavenly realm
- Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, Hertfordshire – Hospital scenes where Peter recovers and exterior British countryside settings. Hertfordshire locations provided authentic British wartime hospital settings and pastoral English countryside that anchored the earthly narrative