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31/07/2015 Documentary, History 1h 27m
71
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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?"

  1. Robert Gordon

    Director, Writer

  2. Morgan Neville

    Director, Writer

Top billed cast

  1. Gore Vidal

    Self

  2. William F. Buckley Jr.

    Self

  3. Kelsey Grammer

    Voice of William F. Buckley

  4. John Lithgow

    Voice of Gore Vidal

  5. Dick Cavett

    Self

  6. Christopher Hitchens

    Self

  7. Noam Chomsky

    Self (archival)

  8. Reid Buckley

    Self

  9. Andrew Sullivan

    Self

  10. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by rsanek
Written by rsanek on 2021-04-11
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...read the rest
Read All Reviews

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Status
Released

Original Language
English

Budget
$1,000,000.00

Revenue
$0.00

Keywords