Best of Enemies

2015Rated7.21h 27mDocumentary, History

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?"

Starring: Gore Vidal, William F. Buckley Jr., Kelsey Grammer

Trailer

Cast

  • Gore VidalSelf
  • William F. Buckley Jr.Self
  • Kelsey GrammerVoice of William F. Buckley
  • John LithgowVoice of Gore Vidal
  • Dick CavettSelf
  • Christopher HitchensSelf
  • Noam ChomskySelf (archival)
  • Reid BuckleySelf
  • Andrew SullivanSelf
  • Todd GitlinSelf

More like this

The War Room
I Am Not Your Negro
9/11: Inside the President's War Room
O.J.: Made in America
Sidney
The Princess
Thriller 40
Pavarotti
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
John Candy: I Like Me
We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company
The Class of ‘92