A Matter of Life and Death (film) A Matter of Life and Death (film) A Matter of Life and Death is a 1946 British fantasy-romance film written, produced and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and set in England during the Second World War. The film stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey, Kim Hunter and Marius Goring. The film was originally released in the United States under the title Stairway to Heaven, which derived from the film's most prominent special effect: a broad escalator linking Earth to the afterlife. The decision to film the scenes of the Other World in black and white added to
The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra Ziegler. The work, called "Hollywood Extra", is scored for eight musicians and was published by Universal Edition. "The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra" was adapted into a remake called "Hollywood Boulevard" (1936), which was co-written and directed by Florey. Like in the original film, the remake's central character is an actor seeking a job in Hollywood, who is subjected to the cruelties of the film industry and the whims of studio executives and film producers. "Hollywood Boulevard" also includes some visual similarities to the original film, such as unusual angles to reflect the disordered nature of Hollywood.