Alan Parker - All His Films Ranked

Short Biography:

Alan Parker (Sir Alan William Parker, CBE) (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements.

After about ten years of filming adverts, many of which won awards for creativity, he began screenwriting and directing films.

Parker was known for using various filmmaking styles and working in differing genres. He directed musicals, including Bugsy Malone (1976), Fame (1980), Pink Floyd – The Wall (1982), The Commitments (1991) and Evita (1996); true-story dramas, including Midnight Express (1978), Mississippi Burning (1988), Come See the Paradise (1990) and Angela’s Ashes (1999); family dramas, including Shoot the Moon (1982), and horrors and thrillers including Angel Heart (1987) and The Life of David Gale (2003).

His films won nineteen BAFTA awards, ten Golden Globes and six Academy Awards. In 2013 he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the highest honour the British Film Academy can give a filmmaker. Parker donated his personal archive to the British Film Institute’s National Archive in 2015.

Here is a rundown of his movies, with the score based on the average from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes (public votes only) and Letterboxd, from lowest ranked to highest:

Number of Qualifying Films:

Career Average Rating:

7.46

Total Career Box Office:

Total Combined Budgets:

Total Career Profit or [Loss]:

Average Career Return on Every $1 Spent:

14 – The Road to Wellville (1994)

IMDb:

5.9

RT Users:

4.4

Letterboxd:

5.44

5.25

Comedy, Romance

Top Billed Cast:

Anthony Hopkins, Bridget Fonda, Matthew Broderick, John Cusack, Dana Carvey, Michael Lerner,

SYNOPSIS:

A staunch advocate of healthy living, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (Anthony Hopkins) opens a sanitarium that promotes his progressive, if eccentric, ideas about optimal well-being. Among the clients who arrive at the facility are the opportunistic Charles Ossining (John Cusack), who is keen on marketing Kellogg’s cereal, and the wealthy Will Lightbody (Matthew Broderick) and his wife, Eleanor (Bridget Fonda). This comedy is inspired by an actual spa run by Dr. Kellogg at the turn of the century.

13 – Evita (1996)

IMDb:

6.3

RT Users:

6.8

Letterboxd:

5.96

6.35

Drama, History

Top Billed Cast:

Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Jonathan Pryce, Jimmy Nail, Victoria Sus, Olga Merediz

SYNOPSIS:

Eva Duarte Peron rises from poverty to become an Argentinian actress and the wife of powerful President Juan Peron. Through a series of flashbacks, Eva transforms from an impoverished teenager into a woman of influence and power. After the death of her father, Eva travels to Buenos Aires and begins a string of relationships with powerful men before she meets Juan. Eva’s ultimate power and influence earn her both admiration and hatred.

12 – Fame (1980)

IMDb:

6.6

RT Users:

6.9

Letterboxd:

6.58

6.69

Drama, Musical

Top Billed Cast:

Irene Cara, Barry Miller, Maureen Teefy, Paul McCrane, Lee Curreri, Gene Anthony Ray

SYNOPSIS:

Young men and women audition for coveted spots at the New York High School of Performing Arts. Those who make the cut discover that it takes a lot of hard work to become a star and sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. The youngsters grapple with heavy issues such as homosexuality, abortion, attempted suicide and illiteracy. On top of their unique struggles, the students must deal with the mundane pressures of adolescence like homework, heartbreak and rejection.

11 – Come See the Paradise (1990)

IMDb:

6.7

RT Users:

7.3

Letterboxd:

6.12

6.71

Drama, History, Romance

Top Billed Cast:

Dennis Quaid, Tamlyn Tomita, Sab Shimono, Brady Tsurutani, Shizuko Hoshi, Stan Egi

SYNOPSIS:

In this drama from director Alan Parker, on-the-lam Jack McGurn (Dennis Quaid) flees to Los Angeles and takes a job as a projectionist at a movie theater owned by a Japanese-American man (Sab Shimono). Jack falls for the owner’s daughter, Lily (Tamlyn Tomita), 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.

10 – Shoot the Moon (1982)

IMDb:

6.8

RT Users:

7.5

Letterboxd:

6.86

7.05

Drama, Romance

Top Billed Cast:

Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller, Dana Hill, Viveka Davis,

SYNOPSIS:

After years of marriage, the seemingly perfect relationship between accomplished writer George Dunlap (Albert Finney) and his wife, Faith (Diane Keaton), is rapidly deteriorating. While George becomes involved in an affair with the lovely Sandy (Karen Allen), Faith begins a romance with handsome contractor Frank (Peter Weller). These infidelities not only take a toll on George and Faith, they affect their four daughters, who start to resent their father in particular.

9 – Bugsy Malone (1976)

IMDb:

6.8

RT Users:

8.0

Letterboxd:

6.80

7.20

Action, Comedy, Drama, Family, Musical

Top Billed Cast:

Scott Baio, Jodie Foster, Florrie Dugger, John Cassisi, Martin Lev, Paul Murphy

SYNOPSIS:

Unusual spoof of old gangster movies in which a cast made up entirely of children sings and dances its way around Prohibition-era sets, substituting toy guns and whipped cream for machine guns and bullets.

8 – Angela’s Ashes (1999)

IMDb:

7.3

RT Users:

8.1

Letterboxd:

6.92

7.44

Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen, Michael Legge, Ciaran Owens, Ronnie Masterson

SYNOPSIS:

In 1935 when it is more common for Irish families to leave their famine-stricken country for America, the impoverished McCourt family does the reverse. Following the sudden death of her 7-week-old daughter, Angela (Emily Watson) and her unemployable, alcoholic husband, Malachy Sr. (Robert Carlyle), set sail from New York Harbor to Cork with their four children.

7 – The Life of David Gale (2003)

IMDb:

7.5

RT Users:

8.1

Letterboxd:

6.84

7.48

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Top Billed Cast:

Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Rhona Mitra, Gabriel Mann, Matt Craven

SYNOPSIS:

David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is a man who has tried hard to live by his principles but in a bizarre twist of fate, this devoted father, popular professor and respected death penalty opponent finds himself on Death Row for the rape and murder of fellow activist Constance Hallaway (Laura Linney). With only three days before his scheduled execution, Gale agrees to give reporter Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) the exclusive interview she’s been chasing.

6 – Angel Heart (1987)

IMDb:

7.2

RT Users:

8.1

Letterboxd:

7.18

7.49

Horror, Mystery

Top Billed Cast:

Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Stocker Fontelieu, Brownie McGhee

SYNOPSIS:

Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) is a private detective contracted by Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to track down the iconic singer Johnny Favorite. However, everybody that Angel questions about Favorite seems to meet a tragic demise. Eventually the trail leads Angel to New Orleans where he learns that Favorite had dabbled in the black arts. As Favorite’s whereabouts and true identity become clear, Angel learns that being hired by Cyphre was not a random choice.

5 – Birdy (1984)

IMDb:

7.2

RT Users:

8.4

Letterboxd:

7.12

7.57

Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron, Karen Young, Bruno Kirby

SYNOPSIS:

Birdy (Matthew Modine) returns from the Vietnam War scarred from the horrific experiences of battle. He is so damaged by what he saw that he has shut himself off from reality completely, imaging that he is actually a bird. Birdy is confined to a mental hospital, where the doctors are at a loss as to how to treat him. In an attempt to help, Al (Nicolas Cage), his best friend from high school — and who was also in Vietnam — visits him every day to try and get through to him.

4 – Midnight Express (1978)

IMDb:

7.5

RT Users:

8.9

Letterboxd:

7.32

7.91

Crime, Drama

Top Billed Cast:

Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Paul L. Smith, Randy Quaid

SYNOPSIS:

Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) is a young American caught by Turkish police while attempting to smuggle hash out of Istanbul. He’s tried and sent to prison for four years, where he endures all manner of privation and abuse. As he finishes up his time, he’s shocked to learn that the Turkish High Court has added a further 30 years to his sentence. He is now thoroughly demoralized, and his life in prison grows increasingly unbearable until he concludes that escape is his only option.

3 – The Commitments (1991)

IMDb:

7.6

RT Users:

9.0

Letterboxd:

7.44

8.01

Comedy, Drama, Musical

Top Billed Cast:

Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Dave Finnegan, Bronagh Gallagher

SYNOPSIS:

Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins), a self-proclaimed promoter, decides to organize an R&B group to fill the musical void in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The band comes together but ends up consisting entirely of white musicians who have little experience with the genre. Even though their raw talent and lofty aspirations gain the group notoriety, the pitfalls of fame began to tear at their newfound friendships as they prepare for their big show. Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle.

2 – Mississippi Burning (1988)

IMDb:

7.8

RT Users:

9.0

Letterboxd:

7.56

8.12

Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller

Top Billed Cast:

Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, Gailard Sartain

SYNOPSIS:

When a group of civil rights workers goes missing in a small Mississippi town, FBI agents Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) and Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) are sent in to investigate. Local authorities refuse to cooperate with them, and the African American community is afraid to, precipitating a clash between the two agents over strategy. As the situation becomes more volatile, the direct approach is abandoned in favor of more aggressive, hard-line tactics.

1 – Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)

IMDb:

8.0

RT Users:

8.9

Letterboxd:

8.02

8.31

Drama, Musical

Top Billed Cast:

Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David, Bob Hoskins

SYNOPSIS:

In this visual riff on Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall,” successful but drugged-out musician Pink (Bob Geldof) is looking back on his isolated childhood from the confines of a Los Angeles hotel room. Through a swirl of flashbacks and chemical-induced hallucinations, Pink recalls his lonely upbringing, during which he built a symbolic wall to the world as he coped with the death of his father (James Laurenson) and the overbearing ways of his mother (Christine Hargreaves).

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Alan Parker - All His Films Ranked

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