Review of Best of Enemies (2015) by Suzanne F — 30 May 2016

The world of contemporary political punditry had a vigorous birth. William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal, two of the most eloquent intellectuals of their time, forever changed the world when they decided to trade rhetorical blows in an unconventional series of televised debates. What was intended to be a survey of the Republican national convention immediately devolved into a war of words as these two men chose and used the most powerful weapons at their disposal: their ideas.

This magnificent documentary does much more than analyze the debates themselves. It also gives an intimate portrait of these two men and the ideological motivations that led to their overtly hostile encounter. Entertaining in its narration and thoughtful in its commentary, the documentary and the interviews it contains are some of the absolute best I have ever witnessed.