Singer, songwriter and hellraiser, Serge Gainsbourg was one of the twentieth century's most extraordinary artists, and his remarkable life is the subject of the acclaimed French biopic Gainsbourg / Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque), and it's coming to UK DVD and Blu-ray in the new year from Optimum.

Beginning with an enchanting glimpse at his early life, growing up in 1940's occupied Paris, the film follows the metamorphosis of precocious Lucien Ginsburg into 'Serge Gainsbourg', through his successful song-writing years in the 1960's, until his death in 1991. Tracing not only the major steps in his musical trajectory from obscure pianist to cabaret artiste to major pop cultural phenomenon, Gainsbourg also explores lesser known dimensions of his colourful persona, his Russian/Jewish roots and his aspirations as a painter.

Gainsbourg encompasses the seminal moments of his career and glamorous notoriety, including the recording of Les Seccettes, a thinly veiled paean to the joys of oral sex with 18 year old France Gall; his infamous reggae rendition of La Marseilleise and the saga of his greatest love song – Je t'aime moi non plus. The film also explores his relationships with the great women of his life, Juliette Greco (Anna Mouglalis, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky), Brigitte Bardot (Laetitia Casta, Born in 68) and of course, his wife and muse, Jane Birkin (Lucy Gordon, Spiderman 3).

Written and directed by acclaimed comic-book artist Joann Sfar, adapted from his own graphic novel, the story is injected with a bold poetic dimension through the use of animation, used to vividly depict Serge's alter-egos and tempter, including La Gueule (Doug Jones, Pan's Labyrinth), a lanky, long-nosed, snake-fingered puppet figure, an artefact of his early experiences of anti-Semitism in wartime Paris.

Gainsboug will be released on UK DVD and Blu-ray on 10th January 2010 at the RRP of £17.99 for the DVD and £22.99 for the Blu-ray. The following extras have been confirmed for both:

• Behind the scenes featurette;
• Cinemoi exclusive interview with Joann Sfar and Eric Elmosnino;
• Interview with director Joann Sfar;
• Trailer.