This is the story of legendary soul singer Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx), famed for songs such as "Georgia". Born into poor circumstances, Ray lost his sight at the age of 7 after the death of his brother. With the help of his mother, Ray learnt how to survive in the world, and instilled into him the determination that would guide him through his life. As time moves on, Ray uses all his skills and determination to over come both racism and prejudices against the blind. He finally achieves all of this by becoming a famous musician and singer. But as he grew more and more famous, so did his vices, which nearly stripped him of everything he worked to achieve.
I'm not going to go into anymore detail than this, as if like me you didn't know the details of Rays life, you will be in for a few surprises and I don't want to spoil this well made film.
Prior to this film, I had only really ever seen pictures of Ray Charles as an older man, such as his appearance in "The Blues Brothers". With this in mind, I did a bit of research on what Ray Charles was like in his younger days. Thankfully I did, because I was amazed at not only the similarity in looks between Ray Charles and Jamie Foxx but the way Foxx took on the whole persona of Charles. Prior to this I had only seen Foxx in "Any Given Sunday" and was note overly impressed with him. After watching "Ray" I have a totally different opinion, you can definitely see how Foxx related to the character of Ray. I honestly can't imagine how hard it would have been for him to play the part of a blind man, especially one of such high profile. An interesting fact is the Foxx actually sang some of the songs in the movie as well as actually playing the piano in the scenes.
Although Ray is the main
character in this film, the parts played by other actors were very significant in making this whole movie very watch able. Without outstanding performances in the parts of Della Bea Robinson (Kerry Washington), Aretha Robinson (Sharon Warren), to name just 2, this film would not make you want to sympathise with all the main characters.
Of course, the music is a huge part of this film, and as you would expect it is mainly Ray Charles numbers, but along with these you get plenty of soul music from other artists of the time. There could be a temptation to over use music in this film, but it has been done with the viewpoint of assisting the story.
Ray was directed by Taylor Hackford, I'll be honest in the fact that I have never really watched any of his previous works such as Proof of Live, The Devil's Advocate. In Ray he has proved that he is very good at getting the most out of every scene. He never seems to over dwell on a scene which I find very boring, and his choice of camera angles, lighting really help encapsulate the mood of the period. Also, Hackford could easily dwelled on the racial prejudice part of Ray's life, but he kept it true by making his struggle to conquer the blindness, personal demon and the goal of being a successful musician the focus of the story.
The Cast -----------
Jamie Foxx ----> Ray Charles Kerry Washington ----> Della Bea Robinson Regina King ----> Margie Hendricks Clifton Powell ----> Jeff Brown Harry J. Lennix ----> Joe Adams Bokeem Woodbine ----> Fathead Newman Aunjanue Ellis ----> Mary Ann Fisher Julien Kramer ----> Jamie Foxx (voice) Sharon Warren ----> Aretha Robinson C.J. Sanders ----> Young Ray Robinson Curtis Armstrong ----> Ahmet Ertegun Richard Schiff ----> Jerry Wexler Larenz Tate ----> Quincy Jones
Technical Details ---------------------
Certificate: 15 Length: 146 mins No. of DVDs: 2. Widescreen
Packaging -------------
Comes in a standard DVD case, with a picture of a Ray on the cover.
Bonus Material ------------------
You get the usual scene selection which consists of 28 different scenes.
The language selection and subtitles are only in English.
There is an extended versions of the film which includes several scenes omitted from the theatrical version. I did find that this caused the film not to run as smoothly as the edit version.
You also get the feature with commentary by director Taylor Hackford.
There is also an option for Descriptive Audio for the blind and vision impaired audience. I actually tried this out and closed my eyes and listened to the descriptions, it amazed me how the descriptions illustrated the story with words.
On the second DVD, you get more bonus features. For some reason this second disc is available in 18 different languages and 10 different subtitle languages.
There are 7 deleted scenes. Some of these help link the film together, other I am grateful that they were removed as they seem a bit pointless.
There are 2 extended musical scenes. The second of the 2 "Hit The Road Jack" is my favourite out of the 2, but they are both very entertaining.
Next you get "Stepping into the Part", which is amazing as you get to see Jamie Foxx and Ray Charles jamming together. This is basically the moulding of Jamie Foxx into Ray Charles and you get to see how he learns to imitate the voice and movements. Plus quite amazingly, they used prosthetics on Jamie's eyes to make them closed and blind. Due to this he had to keep them on for about 14 hours a day and basically lived the role. You also get an interview with Ray Charles Jr and Quincy Jones.
There is a trailer for the Soundtrack to the film, which features many of Ray Charles's best known hits.
Then there is a feature called "Ray Remembered", this is a tribute to Ray Charles from many famous singers. Sadly, Ray Charles passed away in June 2004 aged 73.
The next feature "A look inside Ray" is basically the making of the film, with loads of interviews and scenes from the movie. Interesting point is that this film took 15 years to be made, from the moment fell into the hands of the director to hitting the big screen. This feature also tells you about the man Ray Charles and what drove him to become the great musician he was.
The Message & Christian View Point --------------------------------------------
So what message can you pick up from this film? Well no matter how bad you feel your life is, and how many barriers are in your way. By having belief in your own abilities and a determination to achieve your goals, you can move any mountain which is put in your way. Ray Charles realised that having self pity didn't achieve anything, and I feel we could all learn something from this man's grit and determination.
Another message in this film is how dangerous modern vices are. Things such as drink and drugs can easily take control of your life and not in a good way. It can damage your relationships as well as your body.
Conclusion & Rating -------------------------
For me, this film really opened my eyes to how important Ray Charles was to the creation of music across the world. He pushed the barriers to allow many other musicians to come through on the back of what he is what doing. The film in itself is very well made and is very enjoyable to watch. There are great performances from the cast and brilliant cinematography and direction. I would not necessarily recommend you buy this film, as once you have watched it once, you would have got the whole picture. The only reason I go back and watch this film, is because I enjoy the music and find the story very inspirational. I would recommend that everyone should either rent or borrow a copy as it is definitely worth watching.
The cheapest I have seen this DVD is £7.49 from DotComDvd where as Amazon are charging nearly £18. In my eyes this film would still be good value for money at £18 but I would be seriously looking round for better prices. The amount of features really does make this film value for money.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
I soooo have to award this review an 'E' rating. I named my Daughter Georgia after the song "Georgia on my Mind" by Ray Charles. It is a beautiful song, and it reminds me of her when I am away from her and hear the song on the radio, or someone starts to sing it at work..... Jamie Foxx did an outstanding job of being "Ray", showing all his faults, and all his outstanding ability as an actor must have gone into what, for me, was a truly magnificent performance. I actually believed he was blind for a start. Thanks for sharing your opinion of a great film, it was well written, and I agree with all you said..... xx
fabulous_girl 15.03.2006 13:54
Great review, I watched it last night and thought it was fab- if a little long!
putsy 12.02.2006 13:44
Brilliant, thanks! I haven't seen the film yet but if Jamie Foxx really is that good I think I'll have to consider buying the DVD. I'm sure the music alone will make the DVD worth the purchase.
Jamie Foxx's uncannily accurate performance isn't the only good thing aboutRay. Riding ... more
high on a wave of Oscar buzz, Foxx proved himself worthy of all the hype by portraying blind R&B legend Ray Charles in a warts-and-all performance that Charles appro...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Jamie Foxx's uncannily accurate performance isn't the only good thing aboutRay. Riding ... more
high on a wave of Oscar buzz, Foxx proved himself worthy of all the hype by portraying blind R&B legend Ray Charles in a warts-and-all performance that Charles appro...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Stays close to reality, Jamie Foxx's amazing performance, music is brilliant, overall great Disadvantages: You might want to take a break in the middle to prevent numb-bum syndrome.
Ottavia 18.08.2009 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ray (DVD)
Advantages: Stays close to reality, Jamie Foxx's amazing performance, music is brilliant, overall great Disadvantages: You might want to take a break in the middle to prevent numb-bum syndrome.
Ottavia 18.08.2009 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ray (DVD)
Advantages: Wonderful performances, great soundtrack, great insight into Ray's life Disadvantages: Some unanswered questions (probably deliberate though)
CaptainDisaster 31.05.2005 (31.05.2005)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of RayDVD
![Ray [DVD] [2004]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78494423.jpg "Ray [DVD] [2004]")
Jan 26th, 2006
(Jan 28th, 2006)
exceptional by (12%):
very helpful by (88%):
![Ray (2 Disc Edition) [DVD] [2004]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78495597.jpg)
