Watch Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven, released in the UK as A Matter of Life and Death is one of the best examples of wartime propaganda movies and has gone on to become a classic of the golden age of movie making. Written, Produced and Directed by Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell, the movie tells the story of the fantastical romance between an RAF pilot, Peter Carter and an American radio operator, June.

The movie opens with the Lancaster bomber piloted by Carter about to crash into the English Channel on its way back from a World War II bombing raid over Germany. With his parachute damaged and no chance of survival, Peter Carter strikes up a conversation with June via the radio and forms a bond with the radio operator as he speaks what he believes to be his last words.

The next morning, Carter washes up on an English beach and finds June, whom he declares his love for. After surviving the crash unscathed, Peter is haunted by an angel, Conductor 71, who was supposed to direct Peter to heaven, but lost him as the plane crashed in a thick fog. Peter and June must now find a way to extend his time on Earth as the officials of Heaven wish for him to take his place amongst the dead.