Part of the New Hollywood wave, Kubrick's films are considered by film historian Michel Ciment to be "among the most important contributions to world cinema in the twentieth century",[1] and he is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most influential directors in the history of cinema.[2][3] According to film historian and Kubrick scholar Robert Kolker,[4][5][6][7] Kubrick's films were "more intellectually rigorous than the work of any other American filmmaker."[4]
Orson Welles, one of Kubrick's strongest personal influences, famously said: "Among those whom I would call 'younger generation', Kubrick appears to me to be a giant."[8]