The Civil War: The Better Angles of Our Nature (1990)
**** (out of 4)
The final episode in Ken Burns' wonderful documentary takes a look at the country after the war. We get stories about the Sultana explosion, the Lincoln assassination and John J. Williams who turned out to be the final man killed in the war. We also get a great conclusion that takes a look at every person mentioned in the documentary and we get to hear how they spent the final years of their life. It's rather shocking to see how many survived the war yet died soon afterwards. Also here is some video footage of Civil War soldiers who managed to live to its 50th Anniversary of the war. It should go without saying but this here is yet another terrific episode in the series and it's the perfect way to close things out. I really loved that we got mini follow-ups to all the people we had heard about throughout the series. It was great getting to hear what ended up happening to them and I also enjoyed hearing about the celebrations of these men that would happen over the following decades. Also, having video footage for those who lived into the 1900s was excellent and especially what video there was of the 50th Anniversary reunion of Gettysburg. Those who have set through the entire series should really enjoy this one as there's really no way Burns could have ended it better.
**** (out of 4)
The final episode in Ken Burns' wonderful documentary takes a look at the country after the war. We get stories about the Sultana explosion, the Lincoln assassination and John J. Williams who turned out to be the final man killed in the war. We also get a great conclusion that takes a look at every person mentioned in the documentary and we get to hear how they spent the final years of their life. It's rather shocking to see how many survived the war yet died soon afterwards. Also here is some video footage of Civil War soldiers who managed to live to its 50th Anniversary of the war. It should go without saying but this here is yet another terrific episode in the series and it's the perfect way to close things out. I really loved that we got mini follow-ups to all the people we had heard about throughout the series. It was great getting to hear what ended up happening to them and I also enjoyed hearing about the celebrations of these men that would happen over the following decades. Also, having video footage for those who lived into the 1900s was excellent and especially what video there was of the 50th Anniversary reunion of Gettysburg. Those who have set through the entire series should really enjoy this one as there's really no way Burns could have ended it better.