Ray (I) (2004)

The life and career of the legendary popular music pianist, Ray Charles.

Director:

Taylor Hackford

Writers:

Taylor Hackford (story), James L. White (story),

Stars:

Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Regina King

Won 2 Oscars. Another 44 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Foxx	...	Ray Charles
Kerry Washington	...	Della Bea Robinson
Regina King	...	Margie Hendricks
Clifton Powell	...	Jeff Brown
Harry Lennix	...	Joe Adams
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Fathead Newman
Aunjanue Ellis	...	Mary Ann Fisher
Sharon Warren	...	Aretha Robinson
C.J. Sanders	...	Young Ray Robinson
Curtis Armstrong	...	Ahmet Ertegun
Richard Schiff	...	Jerry Wexler
Larenz Tate	...	Quincy Jones
Terrence Howard	...	Gossie McGee (as Terrence Dashon Howard)
David Krumholtz	...	Milt Shaw
Wendell Pierce	...	Wilbur Brassfield

Storyline

Ray Charles has the distinction of being both a national treasure and an international phenomenon. By the early 1960's Ray Charles had accomplished his dream. He'd come of age musically. He'd made it to Carnegie Hall. The hit records "Georgia," "Born to Lose" successively kept climbing to the top of the charts. He'd made his first triumphant European concert tour in 1960 (a feat which, except for 1965, he's repeated at least once a year ever since). He had taken virtually every form of popular music and broken through its boundaries with such awe inspiring achievements as the LP's "Genius Plus Soul Equals Jazz" and "Modern Sounds in Country & Western." Rhythm & blues (or "race music" as it had been called) became universally respectable through his efforts. Jazz found a mainstream audience it had never previously enjoyed. And country & western music began to chart an unexpected course to general acceptance, then worldwide popularity. And along the way Ray Charles was instrumental in ...

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Plot Keywords:

ray charles | 1960s | racism | singer | drugs | 

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Taglines:

The only thing more extraordinary than the music is the man behind it: Ray Charles.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

UIP [France] Universal [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story

Filming Locations:

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,482 (Iceland) (25 February 2005)

Gross:

$15,331,100 (Europe) (25 March 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Bristol Bay Productions, Anvil Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min 178 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Taylor Hackford says on his commentary that he made the decision to end the film in the middle of Ray's life because his later life consisted of no conflict, only success.

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Goofs

The film shows an exterior shot of Saenger theater in Alabama when Ray is suppose to be performing in Saint Louis, MO.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Aretha Robinson: Always remember your promise to me. Never let nobody or nothing turn you into no cripple.

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Crazy Credits

Ray Charles is survived by 12 children, 21 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #8.164 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Emanon"
Written by Dizzy Gillespie (as John 'Dizzy' Gillespie) and Milton Shaw
Performed by John Thomas

User Reviews

Not a Ray fan? No problem. Cinema at its best

My wife wanted to see this movie and I grudgingly went along. I have never been a big fan of the biopic - believing that cinema is more exciting when it isn't structured in non-fiction. Beyond that, although I like Ray Charles' music just fine, I don't consider myself a fan of him or his music.

I expected to either suffer or coast through this movie.

I was wrong.

This is an engaging story told in a classic cinematic style. The realism is in the nuances - the tilt of a character's head after a dramatic moment or the look in their eyes while they sing. I literally discovered myself involved in this movie during the course of viewing it.

Jaime Foxx, of which much has been said, heads a cast of immaculate re-creators of not just a time, but an ERA, a LIFE that never really existed to those of us under forty. This movie sinks the audience into time without the gimmicks and grand sweeping panoramas of Titanic or other period pieces of that ilk. This movie doesn't present you with the 50's and 60's music scene, it takes you there.

This is a movie about Ray Charles, but your appreciate of it should not be limited to the story of his life. This is the kind of movie, like Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List, that does what a movie should do - bring you to another place, another time.