Plot
A documentary on the series of televised debates in 1968 between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr.
Release Year: 2015
Rating: 7.7/10 (117 voted)
Critic's Score: 84/100
Director: Robert Gordon
Stars: Gore Vidal, William F. Buckley, Dick Cavett
Storyline
'Best of Enemies' is 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?'
Writers: Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville
Cast: Kelsey Grammer -
Himself
John Lithgow -
Himself
Gore Vidal -
Himself
Dick Cavett -
Himself
Noam Chomsky -
Himself
Christopher Hitchens -
Himself
William F. Buckley -
Himself
(archive footage)
Matt Tyrnauer -
Himself
Ginia Bellafante -
Herself
Brooke Gladstone -
Herself
Sam Tanenhaus -
Himself
Taglines:
Buckley vs. Vidal. 2 Men. 10 Debates. Television Would Never Be The Same.
For anyone interested in how we arrived at todays angry confrontations
and four way screaming matches on news programs - this documentary
might be for you.
"Best of Enemies" covers the ten televised debates from 1968 between
conservative William F Buckley Jr and liberal Gore Vidal. The
debates,for all the wrong reasons, helped inspire TV networks to move
towards the format of screamfests we now know. The focus being the act
of conflict of opposing opinions, rather than substance. Today you can
almost hear the producers scream at debating participants "energy
people.. energy! And Go! "
The film homes in on the verbal confrontations of Buckley and Vidal.
The arrogance and intellectual wit of both men combined with their
serious character assassination attempts of each other is a spectacle.
It is however, also the very distraction from the subjects they discuss
and you can almost hear the future echos of a Jerry!.. Jerry!.. in the
wings (be it a highbrow jerry springer chant). This is emphasized by
the fact the debates are not shown in their entirety but instead edited
to fit the documentary. Instead commentators in each corner of Buckley
and Vidal provide the social and political context around the subjects.
The film hereby focuses mainly on the confrontational segments. A
deliberate choice of the documentarians, but it comes at the expense of
the viewer missing the very important piece to understanding why
Buckley and Vidal were the debating heavyweights of their time -
detailed positioning of argument!
The accompanying storyline is the struggle of ABC news and their bid
for ratings. It does detract from the debates but provides more media
history context.
The film can be seen as an introduction to Vidal and Buckley but will
not provide a thorough insight to either of these two political
warriors. Mainly The documentary shines a light on the subject of TV
debate and where the erosion of TV journalism might have started.
With the recent loss of Christopher Hitchens and an ageing Noam
Chomsky,it seems that the times of fearless intellectual exchanges
between debating parties is over. Gutsy political commentary, social
criticism and satirical wit appear to no longer be coming from
intellectuals but comedians. Once Bill Hicks and George Carlin. Now
Bill Maher and Jon Stewart. But even they cant live forever. Who will
replace…
Gore Vidal was asked as one of the last living legends of the literary
scene why no one seemed to be taking on the mantle of work and standard
of writing of him and his peers. Vidal replied "Because no one took on
the mantle of reader". Maybe we also didn't take on the mantle of
viewer.
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