If they’re well-executed, debates can be an incredible centerpiece for any dramatic work — especially cinema, given the many possibilities that its visual rhythms open up. Now, whether or not those filming the infamous 1968 debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley had that in mind is unclear, the reverberations it had are ample material for a documentary, and first word on Best of Enemies is that the film captures many fascinating aspects of this crucial point in TV history.
After its strong Sundance showing, Magnolia will give the picture a summer release, making for prime competition with big blockbusters’ exciting, bracing spectacle. This first trailer will give some sense of what directors Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon are going for — a mix of talking-head input and archival footage, both of the debates and the climate in which they were held — but I get the sense that its juiciest tidbits are left for the full picture. Nevertheless, a good watch all its own, and encouragement to seek the film when it arrives in a matter of months.
Watch the trailer below (via Apple):
Synopsis:
In the summer of 1968, television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions. William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like rounds in a heavyweight battle, they pummeled out policy and personal insult—their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed. And a new era in public discourse was born.
Best of Enemies will open on July 31.