Peter Ustinov handed out the award to widow Christiane at the Directors Guild of Great Britain ceremony in London on Thursday night.

The director died in March, days after completing his latest film Eye's Wide Shut, an erotic thriller starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

The eagerly awaited celluloid epitaph, which has attracted controversy for its sexually graphic scenes, goes on general release throughout the UK on Friday.

'A genius'

Prime Minister Tony Blair honoured the director, describing him as a cinematic visionary.

"He will be remembered as one of a kind, a genius," he said.

Actor Malcolm McDowell and director Sydney Pollack also paid tribute to the director.

Mr McDowell starred in one of Mr Kubrick's cinematic classics, A Clockwork Orange.

His daughter, Anya, said: "He did not relish the attention of those who thought he was something special."