Influence of Stanley Kubrick Influence of Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick is regarded by film critics and historians as one of the most influential directors of all time. Leading directors, including Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Woody Allen, Terry Gilliam, the Coen Brothers, Ridley Scott, Paul Thomas Anderson, Christopher Nolan, David Lynch, and George A. Romero, have cited Kubrick as a source of inspiration, and in the case of Spielberg, collaboration. In an interview for the "Eyes Wide Shut" DVD release, Steven Spielberg comments that "nobody could shoot a picture better in history", and that Kubrick told stories in a way "antithetical
Tom Cruise and "The Last Samurai" can also be considered to be part of this formula. "Widescreenings" noted that for Tom Cruise's character Daniel Kaffee in "A Few Good Men", "[screenwriter] Aaron Sorkin interestingly takes the opposite approach of "Top Gun", where Cruise also starred as the protagonist. In "Top Gun", Cruise plays Mitchell who is a 'hot shot' military underachiever who makes mistakes because he is trying to outperform his late father. Where Maverick Mitchell needs to rein in the discipline, Daniel Kaffee needs to let it go, finally see what he can do." Sorkin and director Rob Reiner are praised