Best of Enemies

Best of Enemies

classified 15
Film

Please note: This was screened in July 2015

Director
Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville
Cast
John Lithgow, Kelsey Grammer, Gore Vidal
Details
87 mins, 2015, USA

A fascinating behind-the-scenes account of the explosive TV debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F Buckley Jr during the 1968 national conventions. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted with their acrimonious disagreements about politics, God, and sex. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed; and a new era in public discourse was born.

Vidal described Buckley as "Hitler without the charm." Buckley then compared anti-Vietnam war demonstrators to Nazis."

As far as I'm concerned," Vidal told him, "the only sort of pro- or crypto-Nazi I can think of is yourself."

"Now listen, you queer," Buckley replied. "Stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in your goddamn face and you'll stay plastered . . . I was in the infantry in the last war."

"You were not," Vidal replied. "I was.""You were not."

When asked later 'Where is your friend Mr Buckley?" the writer feigned surprise before replying: "Oh, Buckley. He's over at the Wallace headquarters stitching hoods"

(Extract courtesy of The Telegraph Online)

Filmmakers Academy Award-winning Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom) and Grammy-Award winning Robert Gordon deftly chronicle the series of TV clashes between Vidal and Buckley that would set the bench-mark for future political reporting and ushered in the dawn of the TV political pundit. In addition to footage from the televised debates and interviews with friends and colleagues, the bitterness and animosity between the two political rivals is illustrated with readings from their memoirs and letters, with John Lithgow voicing Gore Vidal and Kesley Grammer taking on William F. Buckley Jr. A highly refreshing alternative to contemporary election debates, when pundits weren't afraid of saying exactly what they thought.

This event is presented in association with Festival of Ideas.

  • The screening of Best of Enemies on Tue 28 July is part of our Cinébites deal: Get 30% off any main dish in the Café/Bar with a valid cinema ticket.

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