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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?"Read moreLess
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?"
The story
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?"
Watch trailerCast & crew
Gore VidalSelf
William F. Buckley Jr.
Kelsey GrammerVoice of William F. Buckley
John LithgowVoice of Gore Vidal
Dick CavettSelf
Christopher Hitchens
Noam ChomskySelf (archival)
Andrew SullivanSelf
Paul NewmanSelf (archival)Explore the crew
- Director of Photography
- David Leonard
- Director
- Morgan Neville
- Director
- Robert Gordon
- Writer
- Morgan Neville
- Writer
- Robert Gordon
- Director of Photography
- Graham Willoughby
- Director of Photography
- Mark Schwartzbard
- Original Music Composer
- Jonathan Kirkscey
- Editor
- Aaron Wickenden
- Producer
- Morgan Neville
- Producer
- Robert Gordon
- Editor
- Eileen Meyer