After a lengthy illness, British director and two-time Oscar nominee Alan Parker passed away on July 31 at the age of 76. At the time of his death, Parker hadn't made a film since 2003's The Life of David Gale, which isn't exactly the fondest of cinematic farewells. But he could always be counted on to get critics talking. In 1982, a reviewer called his latest work “perhaps the most revealing American movie of the era.” In, 1987, a reviewer wrote, “Alan Parker has technique to burn … and that's what he should do with it.” And it was the same reviewer.