DocumentaryHistory

Best of Enemies

- Buckley vs. Vidal. 2 Men. 10 Debates. Television Would Never Be the Same.

A documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. Best of Enemies delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers, and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, "What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?"

Release Date : 2015-07-31

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Tremolo ProductionsMedia RanchMotto PicturesMagnolia PicturesParticipantITVSJustFilms / Ford Foundation

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles : Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal

Cast

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Gore Vidal

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : William F. Buckley Jr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Kelsey Grammer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : John Lithgow

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Dick Cavett

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Christopher Hitchens

Gender : Male

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Noam Chomsky

Gender : Male

Reviews

rsanek

@rsanek

2021-06-23

Interesting watch. Vidal's name was recognizable to me but I had never really known how successful he was as a author (and playwright!). It is interesting to see how profit-seeking capitalism in media (in this case TV, but now also on social media platforms) really incentivizes content that is belligerent and argumentative. I have a hard time believing that anyone would say that this is the ideal stuff to be consuming, and yet nothing is done to change the status quo. The last part of the film was perhaps the most enjoyable for me, where we watch as Buckley wrestles with a statement he made in the debates for seemingly the rest of his life.