Sir Alan William Parker CBE (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English film director, screenwriter and producer.

In 1984, Parker received the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema, and in 2002 he was knighted for his services to the film industry.

In 2000, Parker received the Royal Photographic Society Lumière Award for major achievement in cinematography, video or animation.

[5] He grew up on a council estate in Islington, which always made it easy for him to remain "almost defiantly working-class in attitudes" said the British novelist and screenwriter Ray Connolly.

Parker said that although he had his share of fun growing up, he always felt he was studying for his secondary school exams, while his friends were out having a good time.

That company eventually became one of Britain's best commercial production houses, winning nearly every major national and international award open to it.

The film is a bleak love story set against the Blitz in London during the Second World War, when the Luftwaffe bombed the city for 57 consecutive nights.

[9] With no feature film directing experience, he could not find financial backing, and decided to risk using his own money and funds from mortgaging his house to cover the cost.

The BBC producer Mark Shivas had, in the interim, also contracted Parker to direct The Evacuees (1975), a Second World War story written by Jack Rosenthal which was shown as a Play for Today.

[16] Parker next directed Midnight Express (1978), based on a true account by Billy Hayes about his incarceration and escape from a Turkish prison for trying to smuggle hashish out of the country.

[17] Parker then directed Fame (1980), which follows the lives of eight students through their years at the New York City's High School of Performing Arts.

"[7] He spent days with the writer Bo Goldman on developing a realistic story, and states that his marriage became "infinitely stronger" as a result of the film.

"[21] Though not a major box office success, receiving lukewarm reviews from critics, the film has since become a cult classic amongst Pink Floyd fans.

[9] The message of the film, writes critic Quentin Falk, is "joyously life-affirming", which he notes is common to much of Parker's work.

He adds that Parker's films manage to achieve a blend of "strong story and elegant frame", a style which he says typically eludes other directors who rely too much on the purely visual.

[22] Continuing to explore different genres, Parker made a film that bridged horror and thriller territory, Angel Heart (1987), starring Mickey Rourke, Lisa Bonet, and Robert De Niro.

The film is based on a true story about the murders of three civil rights workers in 1964, and stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe.

[25] Despite commercial success, Mississippi Burning received considerable criticism for centering three white characters in a story about the civil rights movement.

However, the film ultimately faced similar criticism to Mississippi Burning, for focusing on a white character played by Dennis Quaid.

Rather than pick known actors, Parker says he chose young musicians, most of whom had no acting experience, in order to remain "truthful to the story".

"[7] Parker says he wanted to make the film because he could relate to the hardships in the lives of young Dubliners, having come from a similar working-class background in north London.

[29] Film critic David Thomson observes that with The Commitments, Parker "showed an unusual fondness for people, place, and music.

[7] Parker's next film was The Road to Wellville, an adaptation of T. C. Boyle's novel about Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the eccentric inventor of corn flakes (played by Anthony Hopkins).

[31] However, novelist Boyle was pleased with the adaptation, calling it "daring, experimental, ballsy – it's something new for Christ's sake, new!… and killingly funny.

[34] Parker's next film was Angela's Ashes (1999), a drama based on the real-life experiences of the Irish-American teacher Frank McCourt and his childhood.

[35] Colm Meaney, who acted in The Commitments, noticed the dramatic shift in theme and style of Parker's films.

[36] British film critic Geoff Andrew described Parker as a "natural storyteller" who got his message across using "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)".

[37] Parker produced and directed The Life of David Gale (2003), a crime thriller about an advocate for the abolition of capital punishment who finds himself on death row after having been convicted of murdering a fellow activist.

[7] In 2005 Parker received an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Sunderland of which his long-time associate Lord Puttnam is chancellor.