Alan Parker died today, July 31st, 2020. I wanted to mark his passing and celebrate his art. That said, I hadn't heard since 1991, this taped interview we did. I was very pleased to hear him say that ours was "the most intelligent interview" he did in Ireland, though it is all relative, of course. Either way, he said that in response to my saying "there is a wonderful undercurrent of aggression here," or words to that effect. And there was. Because as much as I loved and love, Parker's films and side with his politics, I had some critical questions to ask about Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning, and above all The Commitments, which was newly-released at the time. But in terms of the latter Parker knew I was coming at this from the perspective of someone who comes from the Dublin working-class depicted in that film. What Parker did not know, however, was that I was known to be highly critical of Roddy Doyle, as I say in the podcast intro which I recorded today. I could have uploaded just Parker and myself discussing The Commitments. That would have broad popular appeal in Ireland. But to do so would have been a travesty of the entire spectrum of the man's art, and of his memory. So, instead, this is the original tape unedited. Alan Parker R.I.P