Would you happen to have any inside information on when, if ever, the BBC will release “The Valiant Years” documentary in DVD format? Various rumors continue to circulate on the Internet but there doesn’t appear to be any source with definitive information. —H.A.

It has been in the thoughts of many to reproduce Jack Le Vien’s famous documentary. Although a shorter production, “The Finest Hours,” narrated by Orson Welles, has been reproduced on a commercial CD (left), the multiple-part “Valiant Years” has not.

I have “The Valiant Years” on a set of VCRs which a friend recorded from a 90s re-run on the A&E Network. I guess I should convert them to CDs. Of course they are dated. My impression is that they shade heavily into the hagiographic. But the film footage is fantastic. Richard Burton hated Churchill, but this is not apparent in his narrative, or in his later role as WSC in the original “Gathering Storm” production.

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