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Best of Enemies

Best of Enemies

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

20157.21h 27m

Overview

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?"

Directed by Robert Gordon
Written by Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon
Produced by Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon
Box OfficeBudget: $1.0M0

Top Cast

Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal

Self

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr.

Self

Kelsey Grammer

Kelsey Grammer

Voice of William F. Buckley

John Lithgow

John Lithgow

Voice of Gore Vidal

Dick Cavett

Dick Cavett

Self

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens

Self

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky

Self (archival)

R

Reid Buckley

Self

Andrew Sullivan

Andrew Sullivan

Self

T

Todd Gitlin

Self

Themes & Keywords

chicago, illinoismiami, floridapoliticsintellectualauthordebatearchive footagetelevision network1960s

About Best of Enemies

Best of Enemies is a documentary, history film released in 2015 exploring themes of chicago, illinois, miami, florida, politics, intellectual, author, debate. Directed by Robert Gordon, it stars Gore Vidal, William F. Buckley Jr., Kelsey Grammer. 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?"

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