Best of Enemies

Best of Enemies

2015
1h 27m
7.2

7.2/10

145 votes • View on IMDb
Documentary History

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

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?"

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Status: Released

Budget: $1,000,000

Language: EN

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Production Information

Production Companies
Tremolo Productions Media Ranch Motto Pictures Magnolia Pictures Participant ITVS JustFilms / Ford Foundation
Production Countries
United States of America
Spoken Languages
English

Keywords

chicago, illinois miami, florida politics intellectual author debate archive footage television network 1960s

Quick Facts

Release Date July 31, 2015
Status Released
Language EN
IMDb ID tt3518012
Website Visit Site

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)

Reid Buckley
Reid Buckley

Self

Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan

Self

Todd Gitlin
Todd Gitlin

Self

Brooke Gladstone
Brooke Gladstone

Self

Paul Newman
Paul Newman

Self (archival)

Key Crew

Robert Gordon
Director
Morgan Neville
Director
Morgan Neville
Writer
Robert Gordon
Writer
Morgan Neville
Producer
Julie Goldman
Executive Producer
Robert Gordon
Producer