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Best of Enemies

Best of Enemies

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

Documentary
History
July 31, 2015 (11 years ago)
1h 27m
7.2/10
Stream on
Netflix

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?"

Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal

Self

Age 86 (died at 86)

William F. Buckley Jr.
William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr.

Self

Age 82 (died at 82)

Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer

Kelsey Grammer

Voice of William F. Buckley

Age 60 (now 71)

John Lithgow
John Lithgow

John Lithgow

Voice of Gore Vidal

Age 69 (now 80)

Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett

Dick Cavett

Self

Age 78 (now 89)

Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens

Self

Age 62 (died at 62)

Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky

Self (archival)

Age 86 (died at 95)

Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan

Andrew Sullivan

Self

Age 51 (now 62)

Paul Newman
Paul Newman

Paul Newman

Self (archival)

Age 83 (died at 83)

Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller

Self (archival)

Age 89 (died at 89)

Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali

Self (archival)

Age 73 (died at 74)

Sam Donaldson
Sam Donaldson

Sam Donaldson

Self (archival)

Age 81 (now 92)

Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer

Self (archival)

Age 84 (died at 84)