1. Overview
Sir Alan William Parker (1944-2020) was an acclaimed English film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Beginning his career in advertising, where he gained significant recognition for directing award-winning television commercials, Parker transitioned into filmmaking, establishing himself as a versatile director known for exploring a wide range of genres and filmmaking styles. His diverse filmography includes musicals such as Bugsy Malone (1976), Fame (1980), Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982), The Commitments (1991), and Evita (1996). He also directed powerful true-story dramas like Midnight Express (1978), Mississippi Burning (1988), Come See the Paradise (1990), and Angela's Ashes (1999), alongside family dramas, horrors, and thrillers.
Parker's films garnered extensive critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including nineteen BAFTA awards, ten Golden Globes, and six Academy Awards. He was honored with the BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award in 1984 and received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the highest honor from the British Film Academy, in 2013. For his significant contributions to the film industry, he was appointed CBE in 1995 and was knighted in 2002. Beyond directing, Parker played a crucial role in the British film industry, co-founding the Directors Guild of Great Britain, chairing the BFI Board of Governors, and serving as the first chairman of the UK Film Council. His personal archives were donated to the BFI National Archive in 2015, preserving his legacy.
2. Early life and education
Alan William Parker was born on 14 February 1944, into a working-class family in Islington, North London. His mother, Elsie Ellen, was a dressmaker, and his father, William Leslie Parker, was a house painter. Growing up on a council estate in Islington, Parker maintained what British novelist and screenwriter Ray Connolly described as an "almost defiantly working-class" attitude. Although he enjoyed his childhood, Parker recalled feeling constantly pressured by secondary school exams while his friends were free to enjoy themselves. He described his background as "ordinary," with no familial aspirations in the film industry. His earliest connection to the visual arts was through photography, a hobby inspired by his uncles, which he remembered as an important early introduction.
Parker attended Dame Alice Owen's School, where he focused on science in his final year. He left school at the age of 18 to pursue a career in advertising, initially hoping it would be a good way to meet girls.
3. Career
Alan Parker's career spanned several decades, evolving from a successful advertising director to an internationally acclaimed filmmaker and a significant figure in film industry leadership.
3.1. Advertising career
Parker's first professional role was as an office boy in the post room of Ogilvy & Mather, an advertising agency in London. Driven by a strong desire to write, he spent his evenings crafting essays and advertisements at home. Encouraged by colleagues, he soon transitioned into a copywriter position within the company. Over the next few years, Parker honed his skills as a copywriter, working for various agencies. During this period, he joined Collett Dickenson Pearce in London, where he met future producers David Puttnam and Alan Marshall, who would later produce many of his films. Parker credited Puttnam with inspiring him to write his first film script, Melody (1971).
By 1968, Parker had successfully moved from copywriting to directing numerous television advertisements. In 1970, he partnered with Marshall to establish a commercial production company, which quickly became one of Britain's most successful, earning numerous national and international awards. Notable award-winning advertisements included the UK Cinzano vermouth commercial, starring Joan Collins and Leonard Rossiter, and a Heineken advert that featured 100 actors. Parker often attributed his later success as a film director to his years in advertising, noting that it was a crucial starting point for a generation of filmmakers, including Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Adrian Lyne, and Hugh Hudson, due to the limited film industry in the United Kingdom at the time.
3.2. Entry into filmmaking and early works
After penning the screenplay for the 1971 film Melody, directed by Waris Hussein, Parker ventured into directing his first fictional film, No Hard Feelings, in 1972, for which he also wrote the script. This bleak love story was set against the backdrop of The Blitz in London during World War II, a period when the Luftwaffe subjected the city to 57 consecutive nights of bombing. Parker, who was born during one of these raids, felt a personal connection to the film, stating that the baby in the film "could well have been me." Lacking feature film directing experience, he faced difficulty securing financial backing and ultimately risked his own money and mortgaged his house to fund the production. The film garnered the attention of the BBC, which purchased it and broadcast it in 1976.
In the interim, BBC producer Mark Shivas commissioned Parker to direct The Evacuees (1975), a World War II story written by Jack Rosenthal based on the true events of school children evacuated from central Manchester. The Evacuees earned a BAFTA for Best TV Drama and an Emmy for Best International Drama.
Parker then wrote and directed his feature film debut, Bugsy Malone (1976). This unique musical crime comedy was a parody of early American gangster films and musicals, notable for its cast composed entirely of child actors. Parker aimed to create a film that would entertain both children and the adults accompanying them, as he had four young children himself and felt there was a lack of suitable cinematic material beyond Walt Disney films. He described Bugsy Malone as a "pragmatic exercise to break into American film." The film received eight British Academy Award nominations and won five, including two BAFTAs for Jodie Foster.
3.3. Major successes and genre exploration (1978-1990)
Following Bugsy Malone, Parker directed Midnight Express (1978), a stark departure from his previous work, based on Billy Hayes's true account of his incarceration and escape from a Turkish prison for drug smuggling. Parker sought to broaden his filmmaking style with this project. The screenplay, written by Oliver Stone, earned Stone his first Academy Award, and the music by Giorgio Moroder also won an Oscar. Midnight Express solidified Parker's reputation as a "front rank director," earning him and the film Oscar nominations and providing him the freedom to choose his subsequent projects.
Parker's next film was Fame (1980), which followed the lives of eight students at New York City's High School of Performing Arts. It achieved significant box-office success and spawned a popular television spin-off series. Parker aimed to create a musical that differed from traditional musicals, where songs emerged organically from real situations, a technique he had explored in Bugsy Malone. Actress Irene Cara noted Parker's collaborative approach, which made the cast feel like genuine classmates. However, the actual school depicted in the film denied permission for filming due to the screenplay's use of foul language.
In 1982, Parker directed Shoot the Moon, a family drama about a marital breakdown in Northern California. He considered it his "first grown-up film" and continued his practice of choosing diverse subjects to maintain creative freshness. The film explored the theme of "two people who can't live together but who also can't let go of one another," a story of fading love, rage, and the inevitable betrayal seen through the eyes of children. Starring Albert Finney and Diane Keaton, both received Golden Globe nominations for their performances. The film held personal significance for Parker, prompting him to examine his own marriage, which he stated became "infinitely stronger" after working with writer Bo Goldman to develop a realistic narrative.
Also in 1982, Parker directed Pink Floyd - The Wall, a film adaptation of Pink Floyd's conceptual rock opera. The film starred Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof as the fictional rock star "Pink." Parker later described the filming as "one of the most miserable experiences of my creative life." Despite lukewarm initial reviews and modest box office performance, the film has since become a cult classic among Pink Floyd fans.
Parker then directed Birdy (1984), starring Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. The film tells the story of two school friends psychologically and physically scarred by the Vietnam War. Parker found William Wharton's book a "wonderful story" but struggled with how to translate its poetic nature into a cinematic experience that audiences would embrace. The film ultimately achieved critical success, with Richard Schickel praising Parker for "transcend[ing] realism" and achieving his "personal best," while Derek Malcolm considered Birdy to be Parker's "most mature and perhaps his best movie." Critic Quentin Falk highlighted the film's "joyously life-affirming" message, a common thread in Parker's work, noting his ability to blend "strong story and elegant frame" without over-relying on visuals.
Continuing his exploration of diverse genres, Parker delved into horror and thriller territory with Angel Heart (1987), starring Mickey Rourke, Lisa Bonet, and Robert De Niro. He was particularly fascinated by its "fusion of two genres: the noir, Chandleresque detective novel and the supernatural." While initially a box office disappointment with mixed reviews, it has since gained status as a cult classic.
In 1988, Parker directed Mississippi Burning, earning his second Oscar nomination for Best Director. The film, based on the true story of the murders of three civil rights workers in 1964, starred Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe. Hackman received a Best Actor nomination, and the film was nominated for five other Oscars, including Best Picture, ultimately winning for Best Cinematography. Despite its commercial success, Mississippi Burning faced significant criticism for centering three white characters in a narrative about the civil rights movement. Parker later acknowledged that at the time, the film likely "would never have been made if they weren't" white protagonists.
Parker attempted to address these criticisms in his subsequent film, Come See the Paradise (1990), which depicted the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. He sought input from the Japanese-American community both before and after production, agreeing to cast Japanese-American actress Tamlyn Tomita in the lead role instead of a Chinese-American actress. However, the film still drew criticism for its focus on a white character played by Dennis Quaid. A woman born in the Gila River internment camp remarked that while the camp scenes were authentic and interesting, she would have preferred a Japanese actor in Quaid's role.
3.4. Later works and industry leadership (1991-2003)
In 1991, Parker directed The Commitments, a comedy about working-class Dubliners forming a soul band. The film achieved international success and led to a highly popular soundtrack album. For casting, Parker visited approximately 1,200 bands across Dublin, meeting over 3,000 musicians. He deliberately chose young musicians, many with no prior acting experience, to maintain the story's authenticity, aiming for actors to embody characters closely aligned with their own personalities. Parker felt a strong connection to the film, relating to the hardships faced by young Dubliners due to his own working-class background in North London, and described it as the "most enjoyable" filmmaking experience of his career. Film critic David Thomson observed that with The Commitments, Parker "showed an unusual fondness for people, place, and music. It was as close as Parker has come to optimism."
Parker's next film was The Road to Wellville (1994), an adaptation of T. C. Boyle's novel about the eccentric inventor of corn flakes, John Harvey Kellogg (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins). The film was not well-received by audiences or critics. However, novelist Boyle expressed satisfaction with the adaptation, calling it "daring, experimental, ballsy - it's something new for Christ's sake, new!... and killingly funny."
In 1996, Parker returned to the musical genre with Evita, starring Madonna, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce. The film drew its score from the earlier musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. Evita received five Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Original Song, performed by Madonna. Parker also made a cameo appearance in the film as a tormented film director.
Parker's subsequent film was Angela's Ashes (1999), a drama based on the real-life childhood experiences of Irish-American teacher Frank McCourt. The story depicts his family's struggles after being forced to return from the United States to Ireland due to financial difficulties and his father's alcoholism. Colm Meaney, who had worked with Parker on The Commitments, noted the director's dramatic shift in themes and styles, remarking, "It's the variety of his work that sort of staggers me. He can go from Evita to Angela's Ashes. When Alan starts a project, it's going to be something very interesting and completely out of left field." Parker explained that Angela's Ashes was his "reaction against a big film like Evita." He emphasized the importance of choosing projects carefully, guided by his mentor, director Fred Zinnemann, who told him that "making a film was a great privilege, and you should never waste it." Parker advised aspiring filmmakers that new technology is less important than having something meaningful to convey, stating, "If you haven't got something to say, I don't think you should be a filmmaker."
In 2003, Parker produced and directed The Life of David Gale, a crime thriller centered on an advocate for the abolition of capital punishment who finds himself on death row after being convicted of murdering a fellow activist. The film generally received poor reviews.
Beyond his directorial work, Parker held significant leadership roles within the film industry. He was a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain and frequently lectured at film schools worldwide. In 1998, he became the chairman of the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute (BFI), and in 1999, he was appointed the first chairman of the newly formed UK Film Council.
4. Filmography
Sir Alan Parker directed, wrote, or produced a wide array of films throughout his career.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Melody | No | Yes | No | |
| 1974 | Our Cissy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short Film |
| Footsteps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short Film | |
| 1975 | The Evacuees | Yes | No | No | TV film |
| 1976 | Bugsy Malone | Yes | Yes | No | |
| No Hard Feelings | Yes | Yes | No | TV film | |
| 1978 | Midnight Express | Yes | No | No | |
| 1980 | Fame | Yes | No | No | |
| 1982 | Shoot the Moon | Yes | No | No | |
| Pink Floyd - The Wall | Yes | No | No | ||
| 1984 | Birdy | Yes | No | No | |
| 1986 | A Turnip Head's Guide to British Cinema | Yes | No | No | Documentary |
| 1987 | Angel Heart | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1988 | Mississippi Burning | Yes | No | No | |
| 1990 | Come See the Paradise | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1991 | The Commitments | Yes | No | No | |
| 1994 | The Road to Wellville | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1996 | Evita | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also played the Tormented Film Director in one of the scenes |
| 1999 | Angela's Ashes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2003 | The Life of David Gale | Yes | No | Yes |
5. Personal life
Alan Parker was married twice. His first marriage was to Annie Inglis, from 1966 until their divorce in 1992. He then married producer Lisa Moran, to whom he remained married until his death. Parker had five children, including screenwriter Nathan Parker, and seven grandchildren.
Parker passed away in London on 31 July 2020, at the age of 76, following a lengthy illness.
6. Honours and awards
Sir Alan Parker received numerous honours and awards throughout his distinguished career, recognizing his profound impact on cinema and the arts.
He was nominated for eight BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, and two Academy Awards. His films collectively won nineteen BAFTA awards, ten Golden Globes, and six Academy Awards. In 1984, the British Academy honored him with the Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema. His film Birdy was selected by the National Board of Review as one of the Top Ten Films of 1984 and won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury prize at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival. For The Commitments, he received the Director Award at the 4th Tokyo International Film Festival in 1991. He also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Director for Mississippi Burning in 1988.
Parker was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 Birthday Honours and was knighted in the 2002 New Year Honours for his services to the film industry. In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of Great Britain. He became chairman of the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute (BFI) in 1998 and was appointed the first chairman of the newly formed UK Film Council.
In 2000, Parker received the Royal Photographic Society Lumière Award for major achievement in cinematography, video, or animation. In 2004, he served as the Chairman of the Jury at the 26th Moscow International Film Festival. In 2005, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland, where his long-time associate Lord Puttnam served as chancellor. In 2013, he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the highest honor the British Academy can bestow upon a filmmaker, in recognition of his outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image.
The British Film Institute (BFI) paid tribute to Parker in September and October 2015 with an event titled "Focus on Sir Alan Parker." This event included multiple screenings of his films and an on-stage interview with Parker by producer David Puttnam, coinciding with and marking the donation of his entire working archive to the BFI National Archive.
7. Assessment and legacy
Sir Alan Parker's impact on cinema is characterized by his distinctive filmmaking style, his engagement with social issues, and his lasting influence on the film industry.
7.1. Critical reception
Critics often highlighted Parker's unique filmmaking approach. Geoff Andrew described him as a "natural storyteller" who effectively conveyed his messages through "dramatic lighting, vivid characterisation, scenes of violent conflict regularly interrupting sequences of expository dialogue, and an abiding sympathy for the underdog (he is a born liberal with a keen sense of injustice)." Critic Quentin Falk noted that many of Parker's films possessed a "joyously life-affirming" message, achieving a rare blend of "strong story and elegant frame" that avoided the purely visual focus seen in many other directors' works. David Thomson observed that in The Commitments, Parker "showed an unusual fondness for people, place, and music," marking it as one of his most optimistic films. Parker himself emphasized the importance of choosing films with a message, stating that "making a film was a great privilege, and you should never waste it," and that filmmakers should have "something to say."
7.2. Criticisms and controversies
Despite widespread acclaim, some of Parker's films faced criticism, particularly concerning issues of representation and historical accuracy. Mississippi Burning (1988), while commercially successful and critically recognized, drew considerable criticism for its decision to center the narrative on three white characters in a story about the civil rights movement. Parker acknowledged that the film might not have been made at the time if the protagonists were not white. He attempted to address such concerns in his subsequent film, Come See the Paradise (1990), which depicted the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Despite consulting with the Japanese-American community and casting a Japanese-American actress in a lead role, the film still faced similar criticisms for its focus on a white character, leading to discussions about the importance of authentic representation in historical narratives.
7.3. Legacy and commemoration
Alan Parker's influence on the film industry endures through his diverse body of work and his contributions to film education and institutions. His films continue to be studied for their unique blend of storytelling, visual style, and thematic depth. In 2015, Parker made a significant contribution to cinematic preservation by donating his entire working archive to the British Film Institute's National Archive. This donation was commemorated with a special BFI event titled "Focus on Sir Alan Parker," which included screenings of his films and an on-stage interview, highlighting his lasting legacy. Parker also played a vital role in shaping the future of filmmaking by lecturing at various film schools and serving as a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain, and as chairman of both the BFI and the UK Film Council. His work and advocacy have left an indelible mark on filmmaking and cultural discourse.
