Best of Enemies

The chilling origin story for entertainment-driven political punditry (Netflix)

By Alissa Wilkinson@alissamarie Oct 26, 2017, 2:17pm EDT

William F. Buckley Jr. shouts at Gore Vidal during the 1968 debates.

Alissa Wilkinson covers film and culture for Vox. Alissa is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics.

Part of 15 great documentaries to stream right now

In 1968, William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal — famous for their strong opinions about both politics and each other — were recruited by ABC to participate in a series of on-air debates during the major political parties’ conventions. The debates were famously contentious, rocketing ABC to the top of the ratings and solidifying, as this documentary argues, the future of hyperpartisan politics and entertainment-driven, shouting-head TV news punditry. Best of Enemies recounts the debates and their fallout. It’s exciting but also chilling — an origin story for a long national nightmare.

”Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville’s masterful Best of Enemies leaves you with an overwhelming sense of despair. It’s not just a great documentary, it’s a vital one.” Bilge Ebiri, Vulture

Release date: July 31, 2015

Streaming on: Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu

Metacritic score: 77 out of 100

Will you join us?

Our biggest supporters are our readers — and we’re so grateful to everyone who has made a contribution during our September campaign. We’re less than 1,000 contributions away from reaching our goal for the month, which in turn will allow us to say yes more often when our incredible journalists come to us with questions they want to answer and projects they want to pursue. Will you make a contribution before the month ends and support our policy coverage through 2024 and beyond?