Day of the Fight
1951 Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Synopsis
American short subject documentary film in black-and-white, which is notable as the first picture directed by Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick financed the film himself, and it is based on an earlier photo feature he had done as a photographer for Look magazine in 1949.
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One of legendary director Stanley Kubrick's first directorial attempts, "Day Of The Fight" is by no means an amateurish first film. The cinematography is actually very expertly applied and the short documentary format successfully told in its story of a real life boxer. I am a fan of the sport myself so that may let me enjoy this early short more than others but I think its technique is undoubtedly superior and clearly shown. There is also something very artistic about filmed boxing too, just like ballet. The ring feels like a stage and the boxer's movement poetic and visceral. Kubrick does a great job at expressing all of this in "Day of The Fight".
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This is a terrific documentary, not the least of which because it represents the birth of a genius. The photography is superb, thanks in part to Kubrick's experience as a professional photographer for Look magazine, the story is well told through voice-over narrative and editing, and it's accomplished to a very high standard.
The climactic boxing match is particularly well done; the audience reaction shots were actually shot separately and edited in at a later point in time, as Kubrick and his assistant only had two cameras - one for a wide-angle shot and one for close-ups. Additionally, the film in these cameras had to be reloaded after a very brief amount of time - something like three minutes, I…
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The best - and the very first - of Kubrick's early short films, this has recognisable themes and several nicely composed shots. Let down by a poor concluding fight and some questionable storytelling. More on the site.
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Good short film by Stanley Kubrick where we follow Cartier on fight day, from when he wakes up, to the actual fight in the evening. Despite it being short and quite old, the film delivers.
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the hardest part for him was the waiting is the only thing that is wrong with this film because we hear that phrase a lot more than what we should but we much like the boxer want to get in there and get to the fighting as well which only last a minute of the 16 minutes long documentary.
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I feel like Kubrick's tradition of having his characters move from human to furious, possessed beasts emerges in the back half of this dramatized newsreel documentary.
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Born fully formed.
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What an interesting little piece of pop culture. Day of the Fight is the second short film the late, great Stanley Kubrick ever made and it really is nothing more than a documentary chronicling a day in the life of Walter Cartier, a prized middle-weight boxer. The film starts with the young man waking up and ends with him winning a boxing match he had spent the day preparing for.
Interestingly, this doesn't feel like a shitty infomercial the entire way through. Many of the camera angles and shot choices are unique, indicating that Kubrick had some really brilliant ideas even in his early days. At least, if nothing else, it shows us the early ideas and makings of a…
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Very, very old Kubrick! Simple storytelling.
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This is a terrific documentary, not the least of which because it represents the birth of a genius. The photography is superb, thanks in part to Kubrick's experience as a professional photographer for Look magazine, the story is well told through voice-over narrative and editing, and it's accomplished to a very high standard.
The climactic boxing match is particularly well done; the audience reaction shots were actually shot separately and edited in at a later point in time, as Kubrick and his assistant only had two cameras - one for a wide-angle shot and one for close-ups. Additionally, the film in these cameras had to be reloaded after a very brief amount of time - something like three minutes, I…
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Interesting short documentary by Stanley Kubrick. This seems to owe a great deal from Kubrick's career as a photographer for LOOK Magazine.
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The best of Kubrick's short documentaries, full of interesting bits of dissonance and imagery.