Best of Enemies

Jul 31, 2015

1h 27m

★ 7.2

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?"

Genres

Documentary

History

Production Companies

Tremolo Productions

Media Ranch

Motto Pictures

Magnolia Pictures

Participant

ITVS

JustFilms / Ford Foundation

Best of Enemies Trailers

Cast

Self

Gore Vidal

Self

William F. Buckley Jr.

Voice of William F. Buckley

Kelsey Grammer

Voice of Gore Vidal

John Lithgow

Self

Dick Cavett

Self

Christopher Hitchens

Self (archival)

Noam Chomsky

Self

Reid Buckley

Self

Andrew Sullivan

Self

Todd Gitlin

Self

Brooke Gladstone

Self (archival)

Paul Newman

Welcome to a different kind of drag race! As NYC emerges from the chaos of 2020, Marti Cummings (they/them), an audacious and big-hearted drag queen, goes all out in a historic bid to become a City Councilperson. It’s one of the most hotly contested Council races in years, and Marti’s strongest competitor is Shaun Abreu, a tenants’ lawyer with deep roots in the district’s Latinx community. As these first-timers race to do the most good for their Upper Manhattan neighbors, they offer very different visions for Democratic politics – one in a suit and tie, the other in combat boots and floral print. As this immersive documentary reveals, Marti’s passion inspires queer activists and allies to change the political system. Their campaign becomes a community of its own, especially for Marti’s non-binary peers who have never before seen themselves represented.

7.5

Cooked: Survival by Zip Code

Jul 12, 2019

Filmmaker Judith Helfand's searing investigation into the politics of “disaster” – by way of the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, in which 739 residents perished (mostly Black and living in the city’s poorest neighborhoods).

9.0

The Secret History of ISIS

May 17, 2016

Recently released top secret files from the early 2000's expose the lies told to the American people by senior US government in this PBS documentary, which outlines the real creators of ISIS.

6.7

Les raisins du Reich

Oct 8, 2024

No overview available.

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9.0

Under den gamle Fane

Oct 12, 1932

Dramatization of the time around the first Danish Social Democrats and the Battle of Fælleden. A social blockbuster produced for AOF.

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0.0

Alkebulan

Invalid Date

Casablanca, 1961: Edoardo embarks on a covert and illegal mission to rescue a wrecked ship on the shores of the Atlantic. It is the promise of an adventure and his relation to the Great South that will bring him the redemption he desires.

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0.0

Moving Memories

Jan 1, 1993

A journey into the 1920s and 1930s featuring restored and edited home movies taken by Japanese American immigrant pioneers.

6.7

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing

Oct 27, 2006

Shut Up and Sing is a documentary about the country band from Texas called the Dixie Chicks and how one tiny comment against President Bush dropped their number one hit off the charts and caused fans to hate them, destroy their CD’s, and protest at their concerts. A film about freedom of speech gone out of control and the three girls lives that were forever changed by a small anti-Bush comment

8.0

Apollo 11 : Retour vers la lune

Jul 22, 2019

No overview available.

7.5

Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley

Nov 12, 2024

He had one chance to show the world he was still the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Discover the story behind Elvis Presley's triumphant '68 comeback special.

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0.0

Un tout petit pays

Dec 3, 2019

No overview available.

0.0

I Don’t Have the Codes

Sep 22, 2025

This is the story of an ordinary man transformed by history. A simple baker from Besançon who became a political symbol of resistance. That of a France that knows how much it needs others to grow. Of working classes rejecting the siren calls of populism. He says: "I was nothing and I became a monster" to express the vertigo of his transformation. And so the baker entered politics, visited the United States in the footsteps of Martin Luther King, brought aid to the Ukrainians, and ran for legislative elections. Fearless. Fighting with all his heart. It is this inspiring, touching, and funny human epic that Pedro da Fonseca's camera followed closely, capturing his doubts, his hesitations, and his emotions.

7.4

The Magdalene Sisters

Aug 30, 2002

Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.

6.8

The Apprentice

Oct 9, 2024

A young Donald Trump, eager to make his name as a hungry scion of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn, the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé—someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.

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0.0

The Farmer-Labor Movement: A Minnesota Story

Nov 10, 2022

Documentary about the history of the progressive Farmer-Labor movement in Minnesota from 1915 to 1944, when the party merged with the Democrats to form the DFL, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.

6.6

K-19: The Widowmaker

Jul 19, 2002

When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.

10.0

Sarah Thankam Mathews: After All This

Nov 15, 2024

Following the success of her debut novel, All This Could Be Different, author Sarah Thankam Mathews embarks on her second novel, drawing from her adolescence between India and Oman. As Sarah excavates lost place and time, she must contend with the weight of truthful representation and the contradictions within her childhood memories.

4.8

La marche gaie

Jan 1, 1980

A short documentary about the October 14 1979 March For Lesbian And Gay Rights in Washington D.C.

0.0

Thumbsucker - Behind the Scenes

Jan 24, 2006

No overview available.

Best of Enemies

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Best of Enemies Trailers