Best of Enemies

Summary

I recently read the book Playing With Fire: The 1968 Election and How It Transformed American Politics by Lawrence Sanders. The book is excellent and well worth your time, because it offers a great overview of that era. One of the most interesting aspects of the 1968 election was the two conventions – The Republican Convention in Miami, and the ill fated Democratic Convention in Chicago. There were riots, massive protests, police brutality, and tear gas in Chicago. To comment on both conventions, ABC hired Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. to have ten debates with one another during the final moments of their shortened coverage of the conventions. These debates drove the ratings for ABC’s coverage higher than their much better revered competitors and changed the landscape of political journalism.

The film gives background information on Gore Vidal, noted author and political aspirant, and William F. Buckley Jr., editor of the magazine The National Review and political aspirant. Both men were brilliant – very articulate and well read. Vidal was a famous novelist and fought for the Democratic left. He was also one of the first novelists to openly explore homosexuality from a nonjudgemental viewpoint; considering all sexuality completely natural. His own homosexual tendencies were well known. Vidal was a very outspoken figure in his viewpoints and considered to be larger than life from his appearances on television. Buckley was also a larger than life figure. He represented the conservative view point. He was friends with Nixon and Reagan. His political philosophy helped to inform the Republican ethos and intellectualism of the conservatives thanks to his magazine which he edited. He was a very public figure and willing to defend his points of view on paper or on television. Buckley and Vidal were the perfect antithesis for one another. The film focuses on the ten debates and how they left a permanent mark on both men. It also shows how these debates fundamentally changed punditry in our country. The ratings that these debates gained caused a dramatic shift in how the major networks approached coverage moving forward.

If you are a fan of politics, this film will appeal to you like few other documentaries that have come out in recent years. Both Vidal and Buckley are wildly entertaining and brilliant men. Watching them debate is a pleasure that will keep any viewer on their toes. When it gets to the infamous debate where a defamatory slur is used, it is incredibly intense. This moment profoundly impacts their lives and watching it has the electricity of a truly honest and ugly moment. The follow-up after that showdown is just as interesting. These two men truly reveled in the destruction of one another and hated each other for their entire lives. Neither man walked away unscathed.

This film goes a long way towards explaining how we became a nation that is heavily dependent on talking heads for the news. Without the original debates between Buckley and Vidal, it is possible that our country could have continued in a more civil fashion. Somebody would have lit this fuse eventually, but a good argument can be made that you can trace the shift back to these debates.

Directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville do a great job of presenting the story in a way that is very honest. The interviews they recorded help to tell the tale through close family members, historians, commentators,  and friends. the interviews appear alongside great audio recordings of Kelsey Grammer as Buckley and John Lithgow as Vidal for written passages from the two men. It all flows very seamlessly and stands out as one of my favorite documentaries I have seen in recent years. These debates truly changed how we understand the political landscape as a nation, and for anybody interested in this aspect of our history this should be required viewing.

Video

Best of Enemies arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Magnolia Pictures in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer. As can be expected, video quality varies, jumping from archival footage to present day interviews. The film has its own unique look from the stylistic editing and actually feels much more visually compelling than you might expect from a documentary. Visually the Blu-ray delivers the goods once you get used to some of the inherent constraints. The footage they chose to use is in good shape overall and I never was distracted by how any of the footage looked.

Audio

This film utilizes a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that actually has a bit more to it than you might expect for a normal documentary. The film has a fantastic score by Jonathon Kirkscey that glides across the audio plane from the beginning of the film to the end. This score shines on the track. The 5.1 track helps to fill the soundscape despite relying on primarily monaural material. This is good sound design overall.

Supplements

Interview with Directors Morgan Neville and Robert Morgan –  an interesting interview with the two filmmakers. It’s a shame that this feature is so brief. I will be anxiously awaiting whatever they do next.

Theatrical Trailer

Additional Interviews: (a Play All function is available that goes directly down the list)

Andrew Sullivan 

Christopher Hitchens 

Dick Cavett

George Merlis 

James Wolcott 

Lee Edwards 

Linda Bridges 

Matt Tyrnauer 

Reid Buckley 

Sam Tanenhaus 

Overall scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Best of Enemies triumphantly recreates an entire era through the televised debates of two cultural firebrands. Watching Vidal and Buckley debate is thrilling four decades later. The film is sad, exciting, and illuminating. I highly recommend checking this film out if you have any interest in politics or the Sixties. It is one of the best documentaries I have seen in recent years. The disk features great video and audio and  over an hour of additional interviews. I highly recommend checking out this film.

If you want to watch prior to a purchase, it is currently available to stream on Kanopy.