RIP Alan Parker .

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RIP #AlanParker

One of my favourite directors who perhaps never fully got the credit he deserved but whose filmography will stand the test of time…and whose passing, sadly, could probably mark the umpteenth end of an era of a certain kind of high-quality theatrical feature film.

Honestly, the credit part, I was probably just as guilty as anyone else considering his name wasn't on the tip of my tongue whenever the subject of favourite director was brought up…even though so many, many, many of his movies were. I mean, my sister and I, we watched Bugsy Malone *all* the time, never realising what a pioneering satire it was…or that that was Jodie Foster, yes, *that* Jodie Foster. Fame and The Commitments, we probably heard that music on a loop before we finally watched those movies. And speaking of music, Evita…and Pink Floyd: The Wall (heard the first time when they famously, controversially, staged the, uh stage versionat School, what an eye-opening experience that was!).

And of course, the other movies, when you get older, you hear about their legendary reputations long before you actually watch them, no? Ma even mentioned in a letter to me once: what has four eyes and can't see?: Mississippi Burning, Midnight Express, Angel Heart. And then the perhaps-not-quite-as-well-known-but-really-good entries like Shoot the Moon and Birdy.

You get the point, right? Broadly-known, mainstream, high quality, impeccably crafted, theatrical mid-budget adult dramas…remember those?

I'm not sure where he ranks on the all-time director list, all I know is I can't wait to (re)watch his movies. Attention, as they say, *must* be paid.

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#RIP #director #filmmaker #movie #cinema #film #Oscars #British #legend

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Midnight Express (1978)
Mississippi Burning (1988)
The Commitments (1991)
Bugsy Malone (1976)
Evita (1996)
Shoot the Moon (1982)
Angel Heart (1987)
Fame (1980)
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
Birdy (1984)
Angela's Ashes (1999)
Come See the Paradise (1990)
The Life of David Gale (2003)
The Road to Wellville (1994)
The Evacuees (1974)
No Hard Feelings (1976)

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