Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When the last superstitions are thrown out and we meet death with the same equanimity as life. No longer will children's minds be twisted by evil gods whose fantastic origin is in those barbaric tribes who feared death and lightning, who feared life. That's it: life is the villain to to those who preach reward in death, through grace and eternal bliss, or through dark revenge.

What a Concept. The producers later made an attempt to salvage some of Vidal's vision in the film's post-production. " During the taping of the show there was a legendary on-camera feud between Vidal and Mailer over what Vidal had written about the latter prompting Mailer to say: "I've had to smell your works from time to time.

His most widely regarded social novel was Myra Breckinridge; his best known historical novels included Julian Burr and Lincoln. In addition to this he characterised the United States as a decaying empire from the 1980s onwards. " Ben-Hur won the Academy Award for Best Picture.