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"Masterful."

- Daily Caller

"Best of Enemies” captivates with its detail and historical footage."

- Matthew Odam, Austin American-Statesman

"Hugely fun."

- Austin Chronicle

"It's a scream and should wind up as one of the breakout documentary sensations of 2015."

- Moviefone

"WICKEDLY ENTERTAINING. The directors avoid picking sides and instead enjoy the show."

- Kyle Smith, New York Post

"The best doc at Sundance. It rivetingly retraces how one heated rivalry sparked an entire culture of punditry."

- David Ehrlich, Time Out New York

"A RIVETING GABFEST. It might have been both the most entertaining film of this year’s Sundance."

- Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

"A MADCAP INTELLECTUAL ROMP. Lively and fascinating."

- Avishay Artsy, KCRW

"Media history geeks, Christmas is about to come early. Makes a compelling case that modern TV news — i.e. the victory of volume and rage over civilized discourse — starts here."

- David Fear, Rolling Stone

"HILARIOUS AND THRILLING. Chock-full of one-liners and bon mots that would make any stand-up comedian green with envy."

- Kristin McCrakcken, The Huffington Post

"If you like witty repartee among intellectuals, it’s hard to see how you could have more fun than watching this movie. Highly entertaining."

- Jordan Crucchiola, Wired

"JUICY AND THRILLING. The directors have unearthed outstanding footage and interviewed many of today’s best thinkers."

- Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian

"WICKEDLY ENTERTAINING. The debate footage is a gold mine. Highly viewable and highly illuminating. A history lesson that also manages to be extremely timely."

- Steve Pond, The Wrap

"FASCINATING. Thoroughly engrossing and surprisingly entertaining."

- Joe Leydon, Variety

"TREMENDOUSLY ENTERTAINING. It’s rare that we get to see a specific moment in time that could be the origin of much of our current reality."

- Russ Fischer, Slash Film

"A fast-paced, welcome nostalgia trip."

- Sean Means, SLC Tribune

"Colorful and entertaining, wonderfully effective."

- Scott Renshaw, Salt Lake City Weekly

"A touching account of two men pushed to the brink of their abilities as tastemakers in one of the greatest duels of the 20th century."

- Indiewire

"Smart, thorny, thoughtful documentary filmmaking."

- Flavorwire

"Excellent and illuminating."

- Paper Magazine

"Breathtaking."

- The Advocate

"How one yearns for a little of their exquisitely distilled poison among the moronic TV screamers of today."

- The Guardian

"Fascinating."

- The Daily Beast

"It’s fantastic"

- Jimmy Fallon

"Fascinating."

- The Village Voice

"Entertaining and balanced."

- NY Post

"SUPERBLY ENTERTAINING."

- Jim Holt, New York Magazine

"Deliciously feisty."

- Entertainment Weekly

"Hugely entertaining. A must-view film for our media-besotted age."

- The Wall Street Journal

"FLEET AND BRUTALLY FUNNY. Moviegoers wary of the summer's expensively rendered superhero skirmishes can still find mano-a-mano thrills — all verbal, no less tension-filled — in Best of Enemies."

- Robert Abele, Los Angeles

"A MUST-VIEW FILM FOR OUR MEDIA-BESOTTED AGE. All of it is hugely entertaining to watch, but Best Of Enemies is a serious film about a serious failure to communicate ideas."

- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

"Terrific"

- Christian Science Monitor

"Riveting."

- The Guardian

"A rich, extraordinarily fascinating account."

- RogerEbert.com

"Powerful"

- Huffington Post

"MASTERFUL. It’s not just a great documentary, it’s a vital one."

- Bilge Ebiri, New York

" 87 OF THE LIVELIEST, MOST ENGAGING MINUTES OF THE YEAR."

- Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

" A top notch documentary with a climactic confrontation NO HOLLYWOOD SCRIPTWRITER COULD HAVE DEVISED."

- David Wiegand, SF Chronicle

"ELECTRIFYING. Lean, loving and heartily satisfying."

- Ray Pride, Chicago New City

"There could scarcely be any documentary more ENTICING, SCINTILLATING AND DOWNRIGHT FASCINATING than Best of Enemies."

- Todd McCarthy, THR

"Lively and accessible. Buckley and Vidal were remarkable characters."

- A.O. Scott, New York Times

"DELICIOUSLY FEISTY. Grade A minus."

- Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly

"SUPERBLY ENTERTAINING."

- Jim Holt, New York

"The best doc at Sundance. It rivetingly retraces how one heated rilvry sparked an entire culture of punditry."

- David Ehrlich, Time Out New York

"FASCINATING, SUPREMELY WELL-JUDGED AND UNEXPECTEDLY TOUCHING."

- Tom Huddleston, Time Out New York

"A RIVETING GABFEST. It might have been both the most entertaining film of this year’s Sundance."

- Bilge Ebari, New York Magazine

"How one yearns for a little of their exquisitely distilled poison among the moronic TV screamers of today."

- John Patterson, The Guardian

"A MADCAP INTELLECTUAL ROMP. Lively and fascinating.”

- Avishay Artsy, KCRW

"RIVETING. A delicious spectacle.”

- Nina Burleigh, Newsweek

"Media history geeks, Christmas is about to come early. Makes a compelling case that modern TV news — i.e. the victory of volume and rage over civilized discourse — starts here.”

- David Fear, Rolling Stone

"What a fun ride!”

- Anne S. Lewis, Austin Chronicle

"HILARIOUS AND THRILLING. Chock-full of one-liners and bon mots that would make any stand-up comedian green with envy.”

- Kristin McCrakcken, The Huffington Post

"If you like witty repartee among intellectuals, it’s hard to see how you could have more fun than watching this movie. Highly entertaining.”

- Jordan Crucchiola, Wired

"JUICY AND THRILLING. The directors have unearthed outstanding footage and interviewed many of today’s best thinkers.”

- Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian

"WICKEDLY ENTERTAINING. The debate footage is a gold mine. Highly viewable and highly illuminating. A history lesson that also manages to be extremely timely."

- Steve Pond, The Wrap

"FASCINATING. Thoroughly engrossing and surprisingly entertaining."

- Joe Leydon, Variety

"TREMENDOUSLY ENTERTAINING. It’s rare that we get to see a specific moment in time that could be the origin of much of our current reality."

- Russ Fischer, Slash Film

"A fascinating tale that's exhilarating and engaging, an entirely fitting and vital showcase for the film's iconoclastic subjects."

- Jason Gorber, Twitch

"A fast-paced, welcome nostalgia trip."

- Sean Means, SLC Tribune

"Colorful and entertaining, wonderfully effective."

- Scott Renshaw, Salt Lake City Weekly

"Absorbing New Documentary Best of Enemies Will Have You Riveted to the Screen."

- San Francisco Bay Times

"Thrilling cinema."

- The Week

"Offers a bracing view of a pivotal time in our recent history."

- Philadelphia Inquirer

"Enormously entertaining."

- Arizona Republic

"A fascinating time machine."

- The Stranger

"Grade: A"

- AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN

"A MUST-VIEW FILM FOR OUR MEDIA-BESOTTED AGE. All of it is hugely entertaining to watch, but Best Of Enemies is a serious film about a serious failure to communicate ideas."

- Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

ABOUT THE FILM

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.


Our friends at Influence Film Club are now featuring Best of Enemies as the July ‘Film-of-the-Month.’ They put together a fantastic discussion guide to accompany the film, as well as an eye-opening interview with Co-Director Robert Gordon.

Visit their homepage:
http://influencefilmclub.com
http://influencefilmclub.com/film/best-of-enemies/
http://influencefilmclub.com/spot-on-directors-robert-gordon/

CAST & CREW

Cast:
William Buckley
Gore Vidal

Directed by:
Morgan Neville
Robert Gordon

Executive Producers:
Julie Goldman
Clif Phillips

Produced by:
Robert Gordon
Morgan Neville

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Photo Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.