CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Humanities Council will reissue the popular series, "West Virginia: A Film History" for the first time on a two-disc DVD.

The reissue is on sale today, just in time to celebrate the state's birthday.

The acclaimed series, narrated by actor Richard Thomas, premiered in 1995 on public television and has since sold 20,000 copies on VHS. But for the past years it has remained sold out and unavailable, said WVHC executive director Ken Sullivan.

He has since received calls across the state from teachers who have gone to extraordinary lengths to obtain the series, one in Lincoln County having to borrow the tapes from a library in Huntington.

Once demand for the original product returned, the Humanities Council explored renewing the rights and reissuing the series. Coupled with a nudge in the back from West Virginia public television, which wanted to use the series for the spring 2009 pledge drive, Sullivan said they produced the reissue in less than a year.

Today will mark the first official sale of the DVD, though copies had been distributed during the pledge drives.

So far there have been 800 presale copies ordered and Sullivan said he expects more. Right now, 2,000 DVDs have been manufactured, but as the demand rises, the council expects to produce another 1,000.

"We will meet the demand as long as people want the product, but we don't want to overextend too far," he said.

He stressed the series is a reissue not a re-release, and all of the original images, movies and music remain unchanged.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Humanities Council will reissue the popular series, "West Virginia: A Film History" for the first time on a two-disc DVD.

The reissue is on sale today, just in time to celebrate the state's birthday.

The acclaimed series, narrated by actor Richard Thomas, premiered in 1995 on public television and has since sold 20,000 copies on VHS. But for the past years it has remained sold out and unavailable, said WVHC executive director Ken Sullivan.

He has since received calls across the state from teachers who have gone to extraordinary lengths to obtain the series, one in Lincoln County having to borrow the tapes from a library in Huntington.

Once demand for the original product returned, the Humanities Council explored renewing the rights and reissuing the series. Coupled with a nudge in the back from West Virginia public television, which wanted to use the series for the spring 2009 pledge drive, Sullivan said they produced the reissue in less than a year.

Today will mark the first official sale of the DVD, though copies had been distributed during the pledge drives.

So far there have been 800 presale copies ordered and Sullivan said he expects more. Right now, 2,000 DVDs have been manufactured, but as the demand rises, the council expects to produce another 1,000.

"We will meet the demand as long as people want the product, but we don't want to overextend too far," he said.

He stressed the series is a reissue not a re-release, and all of the original images, movies and music remain unchanged.

The series is on sale for $29.95, $50 cheaper than the VHS tapes.

"In regards to the relative cost without adjusting for inflation, it's a huge bargain," he said.

The six-and-a-half-hour series features the history of West Virginia, beginning with state's stories from prehistory to the recent past.

Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns was an adviser to the project, but never formally credited. The series features countless West Virginians and famous individuals like John Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt and George Washington.

Originally, the production was broadcast over several evenings. The DVDs are split into four parts and 27 chapters.

"In the visual medium, this is the equivalent to the best history books we have," Sullivan said.

The DVD will be available in bookstores and locations across the state. It can also be ordered at wvhumanities.org or by calling (304) 346-8500.

Reach Jon Offredo at jonoffr...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.