Best of Enemies (2015) on Netflix
R20151h 27mBiographyDocumentaryHistory
In 1968, ABC News pits liberal writer Gore Vidal against conservative William F. Buckley Jr. in ten televised debates. They meet during the presidential conventions in Miami Beach and Chicago.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.6/106,780 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes93%
Trailer
Plot summary
Made over five years, the documentary looks at the ten televised debates that ABC News staged in August 1968, pairing Gore Vidal, a liberal, with the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Howard K. Smith moderated as the network carried the exchanges while covering the Republican convention in Miami Beach and the Democratic convention in Chicago. Both men were public intellectuals and authors, asked to comment on the presidential race of that year. Drawing on archival footage and interviews with journalists and writers who watched the broadcasts, the film traces the two biographies and examines how the clashes changed the way politics would be argued on television.
Cast
- Reid Buckleyas Self - Buckley's Brother
- Brooke Gladstoneas Self - Host, NPR's On the Media
- Matt Tyrnaueras Self - Vidal's Editor & Friend
- Richard Waldas Self - Former President, NBC News
- William Sheehanas Self - Former President, ABC News
Show all 19 cast
- Sam Tanenhausas Self - Biographer, William F. Buckley Jr.
- Patricia Buckleyas Self - Buckley's Wife
- Lee Edwardsas Self - Historian, The Heritage Foundation
- Linda Bridgesas Self - Buckley's Personal Assistant
- Fred Kaplanas Self - Author, Gore Vidal: A Biography
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Best of Enemies (2015)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Best of Enemies took five years to make, because the filmmakers struggled to secure funding, get interviews and uncover the archival footage of the 1968 debates.
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