But his lack of diplomacy and constant challenging of conventions have forever condemned him to the margins of the American studio system: "I've always been Hollywood's ugly duckling."

Judged in the USA as a shameless Hitchcock plagiarist, he is celebrated in France as a major artist who has pushed the medium of film to its limits.

Now this absorbing volume explores his traumatic childhood, his Sixties counter-cultural education and every facet of a rollercoaster, 60-year career as writer and director: from experimental shorts and documentaries, early narrative feature collaborations with an unknown Robert De Niro, and on to the highs, lows and controversies of his ambitious (mis)adventures in crime thriller, horror, noir, science fiction and war film.

In these deeply researched and expertly moderated conversations, De Palma recalls his collaborations with artists as distinct as Bernard Herrmann and Sissy Spacek, Nicolas Cage and Ennio Morricone - and undergoes challenging self-analysis.

Always quick to give himself credit where he feels credit is (often belatedly) due, De Palma is as unsparing and outspoken about his own failings and failures as those of others, not least American film critics.