Even casual filmgoers know Stanley Kubrick as the director of "2001" and "Dr. Strangelove." Cinephiles may go them one better by noting his shepherding of such early classics as "Spartacus" and "Paths of Glory." But only the Kubrick fanatic will possess knowledge of his rare 1951 documentary "Day of the Fight." Now, independent film house The Mutiny Company has made the 16-minute movie available to us all. The short film, which Kubrick made when he was just 22 years old, was based on a 1949 pictorial for Look Magazine and shot for RKO's "This Is America" series. It follows middleweight Walter Cartier as he prepares for a bout. You won't find Kubrick's signature majestic mise en scène, but you might notice the seeds of things to come in the film's dramatically structured narrative. And some have spotted connections between the gritty, in-the-ring scenes and similar shots from Scorsese's "Raging Bull."
