One of the most distinguished and influential filmmakers of post-war Hollywood, Scorsese (pictured left) suffered from severe asthma from an early age. He was not allowed to take part in sports or children's activities.

He sought refuge in the theatre, and gradually developed a passion for movies of all kinds, from classic Hollywood, the French New Wave to the underground movies of the 60s.

Brought up in a Catholic family, Scorsese initially wanted to become a priest.

Although he traded his religious aspirations for art, religious themes such as guilt and redemption are common in his movies. The films are famous for their chaotic visual style and rock 'n' roll soundtracks.

Steven Spielberg

The most financially successful director in Hollywood saw himself as a loner when he was a child. His situation was not eased by his parents' rocky marriage or the fact that he was Jewish.

He invented a friendly alien in his imagination to keep him company - that cute visitor from outer space later became E.T. in his 1982 sci-fi blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

Spielberg (pictured right) started making movies in school to help him make friends. He soon realised that he could win respect and friendship from other children by casting them in his films. One of his childhood films included an ambitious second world war project - a germ of an idea which would become his 1998 war epic Saving Private Ryan.

Francois Truffaut

'I make films that I would like to have seen when I was a young man,' said Truffaut, a legendary director of the French New Wave.

Brought up in a loveless family (he never met his biological father and was neglected by his mother and adoptive father), Truffaut spent all his time in the theatre. He lived and breathed movies throughout his youth.

His first film, 400 Blows (1959), is a tale of an ordinary adolescent in Paris. He yearns for love, but his parents and teachers see him as a troublemaker. This is perhaps the most honest autobiography ever made by a filmmaker.

His mixed feelings towards his mother and women in general can also be found in many of his subsequent films, including the four sequels to 400 Blows. The Man Who Loved Women (1977) is a beautiful meditation on love and relationships.