Alan Parker

Directing

Alan Parker

Born — Died

1944-02-14 — 2020-07-31

Place of birth

Islington, London, England, UK

Known for

Directing

Credits

61 titles

Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was a director, writer and producer. His feature films have won nineteen BAFTA awards, ten Golden Globes and ten Oscars. His films include Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning, The Commitments, Evita, Fame, Birdy, Angel Heart and Angela’s Ashes. He was founding chairman of the UK Film Council, a position he held for five years, and prior to that was chairman of the BFI. Sir Alan received the CBE in 1995 and a knighthood in 2002. He was also an Officier Des Arts et Lettres (France).

Known for

Spécial cinéma poster
9.5

Marcello Mastroianni, Isabelle Adjani, Alain Delon, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen... the biggest stars in cinema were welcomed by Christian Defaye on his show Spécial cinéma. Between intimate confessions from actors and immersion in the world of the greatest filmmakers, Christian Defaye took viewers on a journey into the fascinating world of cinema for nearly thirty years.

Spécial cinéma

1974

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

Midi Première poster
9.0

Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.

Midi Première

1975

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche poster
6.0

A talk show presented by Michel Drucker

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

1975

No artwork available
5.1

The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.

Film '72

1971

The Life of David Gale poster
7.4

A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

The Life of David Gale

2003

Film credits

2010s · 5 titles

Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach poster
6.6

A surprisingly candid behind-the-scenes account of the career of Ken Loach, one of Britain’s most celebrated and controversial filmmakers, as he prepares to release his final major film I, Daniel Blake.

Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach

2016

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff poster
6.6

In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff

2010

Who Killed British Cinema? poster
5.0

A feature length documentary about the real state of the British film industry in relation to UK structures past, present and currently for the future. This film exposes the shocking truths about the UK Governments' will to grow an indigenous British film industry, the legacy and testament of the now closed UK Film Council (UKFC), the current British Film Institute and the new Creative England.

Who Killed British Cinema?

2018

Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film poster
4.8

The life story of the film director, movie star and industry figure who furthered the cause of cinema: Lord Richard Attenborough.

Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film

2014

Evita: The Making of a Superstar poster
NR

Suzy Klein travels deep into the world of musical theatre, and the colourful landscapes of Argentina, to discover the story of one of the West End's most celebrated characters. Intertwining the stories of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's creation with the true story of Eva Peron, she celebrates the extraordinary show in the 40th year after its creation. Meeting musical stars including Elaine Paige, Hal Prince and Tim Rice, she hears how the show came into being, all inspired by a face on a postage stamp. She then travels to Argentina, meeting politicians, performers and Eva fans to hear how this intensely divisive figure - loved by the poor, loathed by the rich - became one of the enduring icons of our time.

Evita: The Making of a Superstar

2018

2000s · 7 titles

The Life of David Gale poster
7.4

A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

The Life of David Gale

2003

Stanley Kubrick - Ein Leben für den Film poster
7.4

With commentary from Hollywood stars, outtakes from his movies and footage from his youth, this documentary looks at Stanley Kubrick's life and films. Director Jan Harlan, Kubrick's brother-in-law and sometime collaborator, interviews heavyweights like Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen and Sydney Pollack, who explain the influence of Kubrick classics like "Dr. Strangelove" and "2001: A Space Odyssey," and how he absorbed visual clues from disposable culture such as television commercials.

Stanley Kubrick - Ein Leben für den Film

2001

100 Films and a Funeral poster
7.3

A lively look at the history of the twice-risen, twice-fallen London-based Polygram Filmed Entertainment, which in its heyday produced such titles as Fargo, The Usual Suspects, and Four Weddings and a Funeral.

100 Films and a Funeral

2007

It's Black Entertainment poster
8.7

A star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.

It's Black Entertainment

2002

Rock Milestones: Pink Floyd's The Wall (The Ultimate Critical Review) poster
6.0

It is now over 25 years since the release of The Wall. Conceived by Roger Waters as an ambitious double album, a spectacular live show and a ground breaking feature film. The Wall has gone on to achieve iconic status in the history of popular music. This program draws on live performance footage of Pink Floyd and highlights from the film. Also includes extracts from archive interviews with Gerald Scarfe and Alan Parker, the director of The Wall, along with the views of a team of leading musicians and musicologists. This is the independent critical review of a milestone in popular culture, which strips away the prejudice to produce the ultimate retrospective on one of the most important and iconoclastic popular works of the twentieth century. Featuring Highlights From: • Another Brick in The Wall Part 2 • Comfortably Numb • One Of My Turns • Plus Many More!

Rock Milestones: Pink Floyd's The Wall (The Ultimate Critical Review)

2007

Michael Powell poster
NR

The first episode of a new arts documentary program from BBC Scotland was dedicated to Michael Powell in his centenary year. The program interviews many people who knew or worked with him or were influenced by his work.

Michael Powell

2005

The Commitments - Looking Back poster
8.0

Documentary about the 1991 film

The Commitments - Looking Back

2004

1990s · 7 titles

Angela's Ashes poster
7.3

An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.

Angela's Ashes

1999

The Commitments poster
7.3

Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan.

The Commitments

1991

Evita poster
6.0

The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, an Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.

Evita

1996

The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money poster
5.5

An examination of the evolution of commercials as an artistic medium, featuring interviews with media luminaries who relate how the in-your-face stylistic conventions of commercials have influenced feature films and the visual arts. A documentary film talking about art and advertising divided in three parts: 1. Crossing Over - from cinema to ads from ads to cinema 2. Humour - How humour affects us in advertising 3. Shock - The way shock is used to sell

The Fine Art of Separating People from Their Money

1996

Typically British: A Personal History of British Cinema poster
7.2

Stephen Frears and a quartet of film industry notables - representing different cinematic periods - drink tea and discuss ups and downs of British cinema.

Typically British: A Personal History of British Cinema

1995

Retrospective: Looking Back at the Wall poster
6.5

Interviews on the making of Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982). Included as a 2-Part special feature on the 1999 and 2005 DVD editions.

Retrospective: Looking Back at the Wall

1999

A New Madonna: The Making of 'Evita' poster
8.0

Documentary about the making of Alan Parker's film adaptation of the stage musical EVITA.

A New Madonna: The Making of 'Evita'

1996

Series credits

Spécial cinéma poster
9.5

Marcello Mastroianni, Isabelle Adjani, Alain Delon, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen... the biggest stars in cinema were welcomed by Christian Defaye on his show Spécial cinéma. Between intimate confessions from actors and immersion in the world of the greatest filmmakers, Christian Defaye took viewers on a journey into the fascinating world of cinema for nearly thirty years.

Spécial cinéma

1974

The South Bank Show poster
5.6

The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.

The South Bank Show

1978

Midi Première poster
9.0

Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.

Midi Première

1975

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche poster
6.0

A talk show presented by Michel Drucker

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

1975

No artwork available
5.1

The BBC's flagship cinema review TV program featuring reviews of new releases, news items and interviews. The title of the program changes each year to incorporate the year of broadcast.

Film '72

1971

Magi-Nation poster
8.8

Magi-Nation is an animated television series based on the card game Magi Nation Duel. The show premiered in Canada on September 8, 2007 on CBC Television and on September 22, 2007 in the U.S. on Kids' WB. A series of DVDs are set to be released on October 21, 2008 through January 6, 2009. The series has formerly aired in the U.S. on Toonzai on The CW, and formerly on Cookie Jar Toons on This TV, with the second season worldwide premiere airing on Cookie Jar Toons.

Magi-Nation

2007

Behind the camera

The Life of David Gale poster
7.4

A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

The Life of David Gale

2003

The Life of David Gale poster
7.4

A man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.

The Life of David Gale

2003

Fame poster
6.4

A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.

Fame

1980

Birdy poster
7.1

Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam War. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull through?

Birdy

1984

Midnight Express poster
7.4

Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of a country. The courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".

Midnight Express

1978

Mississippi Burning poster
7.7

Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.

Mississippi Burning

1988

The Road to Wellville poster
5.6

An unhappy young couple visit the infamous Kellogg spa in Battle Creek, Michigan while a young hustler tries get into the breakfast-cereal business and compete against John Kellogg's corn flakes.

The Road to Wellville

1994

The Road to Wellville poster
5.6

An unhappy young couple visit the infamous Kellogg spa in Battle Creek, Michigan while a young hustler tries get into the breakfast-cereal business and compete against John Kellogg's corn flakes.

The Road to Wellville

1994

The Road to Wellville poster
5.6

An unhappy young couple visit the infamous Kellogg spa in Battle Creek, Michigan while a young hustler tries get into the breakfast-cereal business and compete against John Kellogg's corn flakes.

The Road to Wellville

1994

Pink Floyd: The Wall poster
8.0

A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.

Pink Floyd: The Wall

1982

Angel Heart poster
7.1

A down-and-out Brooklyn detective is hired to track down a singer on an odyssey that will take him through the desperate streets of Harlem, the smoke-filled jazz clubs of New Orleans, and the swamps of Louisiana and its seedy underworld of voodoo.

Angel Heart

1987

Angel Heart poster
7.1

A down-and-out Brooklyn detective is hired to track down a singer on an odyssey that will take him through the desperate streets of Harlem, the smoke-filled jazz clubs of New Orleans, and the swamps of Louisiana and its seedy underworld of voodoo.

Angel Heart

1987

Angela's Ashes poster
7.3

An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.

Angela's Ashes

1999

Angela's Ashes poster
7.3

An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.

Angela's Ashes

1999

Angela's Ashes poster
7.3

An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.

Angela's Ashes

1999

The Commitments poster
7.3

Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan.

The Commitments

1991

Evita poster
6.0

The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, an Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.

Evita

1996

Evita poster
6.0

The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, an Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.

Evita

1996

Evita poster
6.0

The hit musical based on the life of Evita Duarte, an Argentinian actress who eventually became the wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón, and the most beloved and hated woman in Argentina.

Evita

1996

Bugsy Malone poster
6.6

New York, 1929, a war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan. Dan is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded "splurge gun". As the custard pies fly, Bugsy Malone, an all-round nice guy, falls for Blousey Brown, a singer at Fat Sam's speakeasy. His designs on her are disrupted by the seductive songstress Tallulah who wants Bugsy for herself.

Bugsy Malone

1976

Bugsy Malone poster
6.6

New York, 1929, a war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan. Dan is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded "splurge gun". As the custard pies fly, Bugsy Malone, an all-round nice guy, falls for Blousey Brown, a singer at Fat Sam's speakeasy. His designs on her are disrupted by the seductive songstress Tallulah who wants Bugsy for herself.

Bugsy Malone

1976

Come See the Paradise poster
6.2

In this drama from director Alan Parker, on-the-lam Jack McGurn flees to Los Angeles and takes a job as a projectionist at a movie theater owned by a Japanese-American man. Jack falls for the owner's daughter, Lily, but they are forced to elope to Seattle when her father forbids the relationship. The couple marry and have a daughter, but when World War II breaks out, Jack is powerless to stop his new family's forced internment.

Come See the Paradise

1990

Come See the Paradise poster
6.2

In this drama from director Alan Parker, on-the-lam Jack McGurn flees to Los Angeles and takes a job as a projectionist at a movie theater owned by a Japanese-American man. Jack falls for the owner's daughter, Lily, but they are forced to elope to Seattle when her father forbids the relationship. The couple marry and have a daughter, but when World War II breaks out, Jack is powerless to stop his new family's forced internment.

Come See the Paradise

1990

Melody poster
7.0

Two youngsters declare to their parents that they want to get married. Not sometime in the future but as soon as possible.

Melody

1971

The Evacuees poster
5.8

The experiences of two young Jewish boys evacuated from Manchester to Blackpool during the Blitz.

The Evacuees

1975

Shoot the Moon poster
6.3

After fifteen years of marriage, an affluent couple divorce and take up with new partners.

Shoot the Moon

1982

Footsteps poster
7.0

Gemma Jones stars as a woman suffering from hyperacusis, which affects the muscles of the ears. As a result she has become highly sensitive to noise, a condition that is only exacerbated by living in a crowded boarding house.

Footsteps

1974

Footsteps poster
7.0

Gemma Jones stars as a woman suffering from hyperacusis, which affects the muscles of the ears. As a result she has become highly sensitive to noise, a condition that is only exacerbated by living in a crowded boarding house.

Footsteps

1974

A Turnip Head's Guide To The British Cinema poster
NR

Documentary presenting Alan Parker’s view of British cinema with comments from Richard Lester and others and location report from King’s Lynn on the making of Hugh Hudson’s Revolution, starring Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland, and Nastassja Kinski.

A Turnip Head's Guide To The British Cinema

1986

Our Cissy poster
8.0

An old man travels to London from the North Country, accompanied by his son, in order to find the truth about his daughter's suicide.

Our Cissy

1974

Our Cissy poster
8.0

An old man travels to London from the North Country, accompanied by his son, in order to find the truth about his daughter's suicide.

Our Cissy

1974

No Hard Feelings poster
3.0

This short feature, an early directing credit for Alan Parker, shows the reality of life during the WWII air raids with none of the traditional 'Blitz spirit' so often portrayed. Eric spends the nights crammed into a brick shelter with his dad, sister and her screaming kids, and every bombardment brings tears over the loss of his mother in an earlier raid. When he learns his sweetheart is to be evacuated, he finally buckles under the stress.

No Hard Feelings

1976

No Hard Feelings poster
3.0

This short feature, an early directing credit for Alan Parker, shows the reality of life during the WWII air raids with none of the traditional 'Blitz spirit' so often portrayed. Eric spends the nights crammed into a brick shelter with his dad, sister and her screaming kids, and every bombardment brings tears over the loss of his mother in an earlier raid. When he learns his sweetheart is to be evacuated, he finally buckles under the stress.

No Hard Feelings

1976