*MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT and PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE, out to own on DVD and Blu-ray from 25 January*

*SEE A HOT, NAKED SEX SCENE in the PLAYER ABOVE!*

Very nearly, the most impressive thing about this French crime double-bill is the expanding waistline of its lead star Vincent Cassel, who clearly got to guzzle the burgers in his portrayal of one of France's most notorious 20th century crims, Jacques Mesrine.

But overlooking the big bellies, Mesrine is an EPIC gangster flick, told in two feature-length parts Killer Instinct and Public Enemy One, and featuring DARING bank-raids, UNNERVING gangland hits, and a very scary Gerard Depardieu playing a horribly sadistic boss.

It may be obvious to describe it as a French Scarface or Goodfellas, but it's easily in the same league for class. Check out our VINCENT CASSEL INTERVIEW or read on to learn more about the REAL Jacques Mesrine.

*WIN WIN WIN* if you want to WIN a copy of the two films on Blu-ray, simply email your details to chaps@maxim.co.uk stating 'Mesrine' in the subject head, and we'll send a copy each to three winners at random (entrants must be over 18 and live in the UK)

MORE ABOUT THE REAL MESRINE:

This is a life: Jacques Mesrine was born just outside Paris in 1936. As a young lad he attended a strict Catholic school but was expelled for violent behaviour. He got married at 19, but joined the French Army and left to serve in the Algerian War. In the early 60s he left the army, and his first arrest - for armed robbery - came in 1962. After a short prison spell he briefly went straight, working for a firm of architects, before returning to crime.

He spent the next ten years bouncing around Europe and north America, was arrested for kidnapping in Canada and sentenced to ten years, escaped, robbed banks in Montreal (often two in a day), and then he started to get really serious. I won't spoil the film by detailing his real-life exploits any further, safe to say south America was not left untouched. The film version of this incredible life is slick, violent and sexy. It's why we all secretly want to be gangsters. Well, I do. It's a GANGSTER CLASSIC. Go and see it.