亚瑟(阿尔·帕西诺 Al Pacino 饰)是一位精明强干的律师,在车水马龙的繁华都市巴尔的摩生活和工作。和大部分利欲熏心为了金钱可以放弃底线的同行们不同,亚瑟始终坚守着自己正义的准则,为小人物发声,绝不违背良心。
亚瑟的出淤泥而不染让同行们对他敬而远之,将其视作异类,然而亚瑟并不在意。某日,在法庭上,亚瑟得罪了法官亨利(约翰·福赛思 John Forsythe 饰),两人就此结下了梁子。谁知道,当亚瑟再度见到亨利之时,后者已经因为强暴伤害罪沦为了阶下囚。亨利要求亚瑟替自己辩护,如果亚瑟不从,这势必会对他今后的职业道路产生毁灭性的打击。
拳赛之日展示了处在生涯巅峰的爱尔兰裔中量级拳手Walter Cartier与中量级鲍比詹姆斯对决的那一天(1950年4月17日)。这部电影以关于拳击历史的短暂旁白开场,然后拍摄Cartier(与他的兄弟Vincent)的一天,这时他正在为晚上10点的比赛做准备。他先在格林威治区西12街的公寓里吃了早餐,然后前去参加了早弥撒,并在他最喜爱的餐馆享用午餐。在下午4点,他开始准备比赛。晚上8点,他在新泽西州纽瓦克的劳雷尔花园的更衣室等待战斗开始。最后,我们看到拳赛的过程,Cartier在短时间内胜出。
12分钟版与16分钟版的区别是,后者有一段关于拳击历史的开场旁白(4分钟),由资深新闻播音员Douglas Edwards用一种严肃的,带着些许黑色幽默的语调念出。
Day Of The Fight" tells of a day in the life of a middleweight Irish boxer named Walter Cartier, particularly the day of his bout with black middleweight Bobby James. This 16-minute short opens with a short (about 4 minutes) study of boxing's history, narrated by veteran newscaster Douglas Edwards in a no-nonsense, noir tone of voice. After this, we follow Walter (and his twin brother Vincent) through his day as he prepares for his 10:00 P.M. bout. After eating breakfast, going to early mass and eating lunch, he starts arranging his things for the fight at 4:00 P.M. By 8:00, he is waiting in his dressing room, where he undergoes a mental transformation, turning into the fighting machine the crowd clamors for. At 10:00, he faces James, and soon, he comes out victorious in a short match which was filmed live on April 17th, 1950.