Kubrick's Salad Days: Day of the Fight

Kubrick's other film from 1951 is the excellent short, Day of the Fight. Unlike The Flying Padre, with its by-the-numbers approach to a newsreel-like short, Day of the Fight contains several elements that Kubrick would return to in later films. The film covers a day in the life of boxer Walter Cartier as he prepares for a fight. Though just over fifteen minutes, the film is neatly divided into three distinct sections. The first part, an introduction to the sport of fighting, is a quick montage of both fighters and the overly excited and dedicated fans. Some of the narration borders on the poetic: "Toe to toe body contact, physical violence, the triumph of force over force, the primitive, the curious visceral thrill of seeing one animal overcome another. Touch of claret, call it blood if you will." (Shades of Clockwork Orange?) The middle section opens with a shot of a boxing flyer hanging from a lamppost, followed by some great NYC rooftop shots, both of which Kubrick would use again in Killer's Kiss. We then get to see Walter at home, who lives with and is managed by his brother Vincent. (Just like Raging Bull, but without "Did you fuck my wife?") Without the narration, the footage of them eating, shaving, dressing, and playing with their dog looks vaguely like something out of an Alexander Hammid short. The brothers go to church, eat steak, and then head to the arena for the fight. The final third of the film is the fight itself, and there is some beautiful editing here. Besides the fight footage (skillfully shot by Kubrick and Alexander Singer), there are some wonderful cutaways to men all around the city -- standing around and smoking, while listening to the fight on the radio. Even the sound editing is impressive -- we clearly hear not only the sound of the punches, but of the individual calls and screams from the fans. It's a short fight (only one round) but a genuinely exciting piece of filmmaking. Filmbrain wonders if the film had any influence on Scorsese and Raging Bull -- there are a few moments, particularly a through-the-stool-legs shot of the other fighter that seemed very familiar. Day of the Fight is an excellent first film that far exceeds Kubrick's two other shorts for signs of the future master. This would have made a perfect companion piece on the Killer's Kiss DVD -- but no such luck. Next time: Kubrick's first color film -- The Seafarers.

Comments

[girish]

nice review!
makes me want to see those shorts.
you make an intriguing case for the influence on scorsese. he does spend quite a bit of time on kubrick in his bfi "personal journey" documentary, which is a load of fun and revealing besides.
is the hammid short you refer to one of his non-maya deren films?

[Filmbrain]

There were two Hammid shorts I had in mind -- the one about the cat, and another -- whose name I can't recall -- that followed a man around his apartment while he went through his daily routine.

[Darren]

If you haven't yet watched The Seafarers, be prepared to be bored senseless. Other than a nifty tracking shot or two, I didn't find anything in the film that gave any indication that it was a Kubrick film. Looking forward to your review.

I saw the shorts and Fear and Desire at the Library of Congress a few summers ago. It was such an exciting moment -- the thought of seeing more Kubrick. The crowd, all of us holding our tickets, lined up an hour before the screening began. I wish that the films had justified our excitement.

[FIlmbrain]

Darren -- you are SO right about The Seafarers. Have to figure out what to write about it.