DVD

Ray / Universal Pictures and Bristol Bay Productions present ; an Anvil Films production ; in association with Baldwin Entertainment ; a Taylor Hackford film ; producers Taylor Hackford, Stuart Benjamin, Howard Baldwin, Karen Baldwin ; story by Taylor Hackford and James L. White ; screenplay by James L. White ; directed by Taylor Hackford.

Hackford, Taylor, 1944- (author,, director,, producer.). Benjamin, Stuart. (producer.). Baldwin, Howard. (producer.). Baldwin, Karen. (producer.). White, James L. (author,, screenwriter.). Foxx, Jamie. (actor.). Washington, Kerry, 1977- (actor.). Powell, Clifton. (actor.). Ellis, Aunjanue. (actor.). Lennix, Harry J. (actor.). Howard, Terrence. (actor.). Tate, Larenz. (actor.). Woodbine, Bokeem. (actor.). Warren, Sharon. (actor.). Armstrong, Curtis. (actor.). Schiff, Richard, 1955- (actor.). Pierce, Wendell. (actor.). King, Chris Thomas. (actor.). Krumholtz, David, 1978- (actor.). Fuller, Kurt, 1953- (actor.). Davis, Warwick. (actor.). Bauchau, Patrick. (actor.). Wisdom, Robert. (actor.). Dowse, Denise. (actor.). King, Regina. (actor.). Charles, Ray, 1930-2004 (performer.). Edelman, Paweł, 1958- (cinematographer.). Armstrong, Craig, 1959- (composer.). Universal Pictures (Firm) (Added Author). Bristol Bay Productions (Firm) (Added Author). Anvil Films (United States) (Added Author). Baldwin Entertainment (Firm) (Added Author). Universal Studios Home Video (Firm) (Added Author). Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), Kerry Washington (Della Bea Robinson), Clifton Powell (Jeff Brown), Aunjanue Ellis (Mary Ann Fisher), Harry Lennix (Joe Adams), Terrence Dashon Howard (Gossie McGee), Larenz Tate (Quincy Jones), Bokeem Woodbine (Fathead Newman), Sharon Warren (Aretha Robinson), Curtis Armstrong (Ahmet Ertegun), Richard Schiff (Jerry Wexler), Wendell Pierce (Wilbur Brassfield), Chris Thomas King (Lowell Fulson), David Krumholtz (Milt Shaw), Kurt Fuller (Sam Clark), Warwick Davis (Oberon), Patrick Bauchau (Dr. Hacker), Robert Wisdom (Jack Lauderdale), Denise Dowse (Marlene), Regina King (Margie Hendricks). (Cast).

Summary:

Flashing back intermittently to dream-like scenes from his hardscrabble rural childhood, "Ray" chronicles Ray Charles' remarkable rise from sideman and Chitlin Circuit fixture to innovator, icon, and international superstar. Yet even as Charles ascends to the heights of the musical and cultural elite, he remains hobbled by heroin addiction and compulsive womanizing, a prisoner to his own insatiable needs. Through it all, Ray Charles possessed a rock-solid confidence in his music, a statement of faith in the inclusiveness of American culture. Ray Charles made a place for himself in the America of the '40s and '50s, and promptly transcended the barriers that defined what that place was. He incorporated and encompassed R & B, soul, rock and roll, blues, jazz, country, pop, gospel--all American music--giving us the lush sounds he had always heard in his head, unifying America's disparate musical bits into a cohesive whole.

Record details

ISBN: 1417022078
ISBN: 9781417022076
Physical Description: 2 videodiscs (153 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Edition: Widescreen.
Publisher: Universal City, CA : Universal Pictures Co., [2005]
Distributor: Distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Copyright: ©2005

Content descriptions

General Note:	Disc 1 Includes both an extended version and the theatrical version of the film.
Formatted Contents Note:	Disc 1. The film: Main titles/Seattle bound -- Talent night -- Golden goose -- To the piano born -- Chitlin' circuit -- Unnatural death -- No tears -- Messing around -- Hummingbird -- New Ray Charles -- Devil music -- On the road -- Double life -- Cat fight -- Junkie -- Improvising -- Disharmony -- Moving on -- M.O.R. -- Breaking the rules -- Battling Jim Crow -- Busted -- Going country -- State of the art -- Broken hearts -- Border crossing -- Rehab -- Salvation/End titles (2004) (153 min.); Special features: Feature commentary with director Taylor Hackford [optional audio feature]; Cast and filmmakers [text feature]. Disc 2. Special features: Deleted scenes [with optional commentary by director Taylor Hackford] (28 min.); Extended musical scenes (5 min.); Stepping into the part [featurette] (11 min.); Ray remembered [featurette] (4 min.); A look inside "Ray" (4 min.); Theatrical trailer (3 min.); Previews (4 min.).
Creation/Production Credits Note:	Director of photography, Pawel Edelman ; production designer, Stephen Altman ; edited by Paul Hirsch ; original and new recordings by Ray Charles ; score composed by Craig Armstrong ; costume designer, Sharen Davis.
Participant or Performer Note:	Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), Kerry Washington (Della Bea Robinson), Clifton Powell (Jeff Brown), Aunjanue Ellis (Mary Ann Fisher), Harry Lennix (Joe Adams), Terrence Dashon Howard (Gossie McGee), Larenz Tate (Quincy Jones), Bokeem Woodbine (Fathead Newman), Sharon Warren (Aretha Robinson), Curtis Armstrong (Ahmet Ertegun), Richard Schiff (Jerry Wexler), Wendell Pierce (Wilbur Brassfield), Chris Thomas King (Lowell Fulson), David Krumholtz (Milt Shaw), Kurt Fuller (Sam Clark), Warwick Davis (Oberon), Patrick Bauchau (Dr. Hacker), Robert Wisdom (Jack Lauderdale), Denise Dowse (Marlene), Regina King (Margie Hendricks).
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:	Originally produced as an American motion picture in 2004.
Target Audience Note:	MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements.
System Details Note:	DVD; Region 1, NTSC; Dolby Digital 5.1; anamorphic widescreen presentation, aspect ratio 1.85:1.
Language Note:	In English or dubbed French with optional subtitles in Spanish or French; closed-captioned.