Part of the New Hollywood era of cinema,[1][2]Kubrick's films are considered by film historian Michel Ciment to be "among the most important contributions to world cinema in the twentieth century",[3] and he is frequently cited as one of the greatest and most influential directors in the history of cinema.[4][5] According to film historian and Kubrick scholar Robert Kolker,[6][7][8][9] Kubrick's films were "more intellectually rigorous than the work of any other American filmmaker."[6]
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."[10]