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Best of Enemies

2015·Documentary·1h 27m
7.1
★
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?"
Directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon
chicago, illinois
miami, florida
politics
intellectual
author
debate
archive footage
television network
1960s
YouTube
Trailer
IMDB
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
NetflixAmazon Prime VideoAmazon Video

Cast

Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Self
William F. Buckley Jr.
William F. Buckley Jr.
Self
Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Voice of William F. Buckley
John Lithgow
John Lithgow
Voice of Gore Vidal
Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett
Self
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Self
Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Self (archival)
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan
Self
Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Self (archival)
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Self (archival)
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Self (archival)
Sam Donaldson
Sam Donaldson
Self (archival)

Crew

Morgan Neville
Morgan Neville
Director
Robert Gordon
Robert Gordon
Director
Morgan Neville
Morgan Neville
Writer
Robert Gordon
Robert Gordon
Writer
Mark Schwartzbard
Mark Schwartzbard
Director of Photography
Morgan Neville
Morgan Neville
Producer
Robert Gordon
Robert Gordon
Producer
Julie Goldman
Julie Goldman
Executive Producer
Pete Horner
Pete Horner
Supervising Sound Editor

Popular Reviews

28 reviews
Leslie
Leslie
8.0★ · 02/14/26
Best of Enemies
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Leslie
Leslie
8.0★ · 01/01/26
Best of Enemies
First movie of 2026, by the way.
First movie of 2026, by the way.
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Mostly Aidan
Mostly Aidan
10.0★ · 12/29/25
Best of Enemies
The year? 1968. The arena? ABC studios. The fighters? In one corner, we have conservative National Review editor William F. Buckley and in the other, we got the writer Gore Vidal. These two men duking it out on Live TV, trading blows in every debate, when the worst of all came from William F. Buckley "Now listen you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in your godamned face and you'll stay plastered" but this attempt at a knock-out punch ended up hurting Buckley more than Vidal. This version of the Ali-Foreman "Rumble In The Jungle" left a lasting impact on the way news networks cover politcs, by bringing in opposing pundits to argue on the issue for the rest of their timeslot. This was a great documentary, loved it.
The year? 1968. The arena? ABC studios. The fighters? In one corner, we have conservative National Review editor William F. Buckley and in the other, we got the writer Gore Vidal. These two men duking it out on Live TV, trading blows in every debate, when the worst of all came from William F. Buckley "Now listen you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in your godamned face and you'll stay plastered" but this attempt at a knock-out punch ended up hurting Buckley more than Vidal. This version of the Ali-Foreman "Rumble In The Jungle" left a lasting impact on the way news networks cover politcs, by bringing in opposing pundits to argue on the issue for the rest of their timeslot. This was a great documentary, loved it.
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Leslie
Leslie
8.0★ · 08/12/25
Best of Enemies
Their dynamic would somehow be less homoerotic if they actually fucked.
Their dynamic would somehow be less homoerotic if they actually fucked.
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Leslie
Leslie
8.0★ · 08/01/25
Best of Enemies
At it again, folks!
At it again, folks!
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