DOCUMENTARIES: BEST OF ENEMIES

the bill buckley v gore vidal feud has fascinated me ever since i was a kid. i remember first watching Bill Buckley THREATENING to sock vidal in his GODDAMN face when i was in about 8th grade or so— my mind being blown, even then, that this aired live on television. 

as i’ve gotten older, i’ve gone back and forth on whether or not Buckley was justified in his loss of patience with Vidal, especially doing what he did for a living. I’ve seen more episodes of firing line than i can count, and I can pretty confidently say that Buckley was a patient guy— So what made him tick with Vidal?

The documentary covers the ten debates that were televised on ABC in August of 1968 and I think it answers that question significantly better than i could.  It covers their lifelong feud and litigation that lasted right into the end of their lives. 

You can pick up the dvd on Amazon here.