the opening flourish leave me purr with delight at their inventiveness the altered version of the archer logo and the introductory disclaimer and the way the camera pan over the cosmos . it strange to think that ` it a wonderful life come out in the same year . no great coincidence represent the 1940s be awash with heaven and earth film while but the glowing cotton wool nebula and cutesy angel of the competition look tattered and something best pass over in silence and when place next to alfred junge vision . it continue to look great all the way through and a more and more striking idea be sprung upon u . i be not a great fan of mix colour with black and white in general . one of the two visual scheme almost always look ugly when place next to the other . not so here . powell dissolve colour into monochrome and monochrome into colour a if it the most natural thing in the world and a mere change of palette . both the colour photography and the black and white could stand on their own . a for the story . this may be pressburger best script and or at least it would have be have the conclusion be a more logical outcome of precede event . other than that it tight and yet with more go on than i can possibly allude to here . be the heavenly stuff real or imaginary . ( or both . perhaps carter dream up a fantasy that be and a it so happen and true . ) everyone say be mean to neither ask nor answer this question and but i do not see why . i be sure we be mean to ask the question . the film even give u clue a to what the answer be indeed and the problem be that there be too many clue and they seem at first to be point in different direction . the fact that other thing ought to occupy our attention as well doesn not mean that this shouldn not occupy u as well . there be and a i have say before and a lot go on . consider the scene in which abraham farlan ( heaven prosecute lawyer ) play a radio broadcast of a cricket match and and contemptuously say and ` the voice of england and 1945. dr. reef ( the defence ) acknowledge the exhibit with a great deal of embarrassment and and then produce one of his own represent a blue song from america and which farlan listen to a though he get a lemon in his mouth . reef look smug . snobbery . well and i do not see why it snobbish to condemn blue music and that not what powell and pressburger be do and anyway . a the song be be play and we get a shot of the american soldier listen to it represent several of them nod their head to the rhythm and perfectly at home . they do not find it incomprehensible . there something valuable about the song and neither reef nor farlan know what it be . reef probably realise as much . all english audience ( and all australian and indian and etc . audience as well ) know without be tell that there be something of value in the cricket broadcast and too while and that while reef understands that and he be unable to explain it to farlan hence the blue broadcast and which show that people can understand each other without share an understanding of everything else . it a clever scene . one last thing . i find david niven a bit cold and without the charisma he would acquire later in his career while but even so and i do not think a film have grab my heart quite so quickly after the action begin and a this one do .