Epic insult-fest hits screens
When Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. went at it, they went for the kill.
Best of enemies expanding to more theaters
Public feuds these days are mostly limited to rival rappers and between Donald Trump and his many detractors. But in the 1960's there was a bitter feud of epic proportions, televised live for the masses to see courtesy of ABC News.
The contretemps between liberal Gore Vidal and conservative icon William F. Buckley Jr. was not just about ideas. They hated each other to the core, an enmity that lasted throughout their lifetimes. It's recaptured in the extremely entertaining documentary Best of Enemies, from co-directors Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom) and Robert Gordon.
The film is chock full of memorable insults, a catfight that proved to be catnip for the broadcast networks, who concluded that to attract viewers to political coverage all you needed to do was set up a slugfest between opposing pundits.
Best of Enemies is now playing in LA, New York and Toronto. It expands 8/7/15 to Chicago, San Francisco, DC and other cities.
Click for a Q&A with co-directors Neville and Gordon.
