A Matter of Life and Death (film) afterward. David Niven was a fan of chess. Peter and June play chess while they await Dr Reeves. Then Conductor 71 "borrows" a chess book Peter has accidentally knocked off the table, Alekhine's "My Best Games of Chess". After the trial is won, Conductor 71 throws the book from the stairway; June finds it in his jacket pocket "to serve the 'was it a hallucination or did it really happen?' motif of the film", according to Mig Greengard. He also noted, "Lots of chess in movies past and present, but I can't recall another prominent appearance of a real chess
A Matter of Life and Death (album) surpassed themselves" and that "it makes for a riveting listen." Sputnikmusic also gave it full marks, commenting, ""A Matter of Life and Death" contains everything fans want to hear; be it exciting, Maiden-style story telling; aggressive riffs; impressive solos; or melodic harmonies." BBC Music praised the band for "their uncanny ability to write great lyrics wrapped around guitar orchestration that rock fans crave", concluding, "In this world of hopeless auto-tuned mediocrity here is a British band that consistently crafts fantastic music that surprises reviewers and fans alike." IGN awarded it 8.3 out of 10, praising the album as "the crew's