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 extraordinary life story of Ray Charles. A man who fought harder and went farther than anyone thought possible.

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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 [fr] Universal [us]

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

Jamie Foxx studied Ray Charles to better mimic him. After a few weeks he stopped visiting Ray saying that a 73-year-old Ray Charles couldn't help him in portraying a 19-year-old Ray Charles, up until age 49, by the movie's ending.

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Goofs

In a scene set in 1954, Ray and the guys from Atlantic Records pull up in front of a theater in a 1956 Ford taxicab.

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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

The final shot of the movie contains a freeze frame of the real Ray Charles and underneath it reads the caption: "Ray Charles Robinson = 1930 - 2004"

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Connections

Spoofed in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

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Soundtracks

"What'd I Say"
Written by Ray Charles
Performed by Ray Charles
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing

User Reviews

Jamie IS Ray

If someone had nudged me about 15 minutes into 'Ray' and asked what I thought of Jamie Foxx in the title role, it would have been time for a blank stare. After all, what is this (fictitious) person talking' about? That wasn't Jamie Foxx up on the big screen. That was Ray Charles. This is one of the best performances by anybody in recent years. Like the soundtrack, Jamie as Ray is flat-out brilliant.

The blind Genius of Soul (who took a revolutionary step of mixing gospel with R&B) died during production. The movie about his troubled life is good, not great. Taylor Hackford's direction and James L. White's script follow the well-worn biopic outline. Super-talented youngster battles adversity, achieves greatness while also self-destructing, then picks himself up out of the gutter for a happy ending. The film shows Charles' flaws (heroin abuse, chronic womanizing, persistent bastard-fathering) even as it sucks you in with his beautiful music.

Kerry Washington and Regina King play the main women in Ray's life, one his long-suffering wife and the other his longtime mistress. Both actresses match Foxx stride for stride. What takes him to a different level, though, is his deep understanding and uncanny impersonation of the great musician. The entire cast is effective, especially Sharon Warren as his headstrong mother and Curtis Armstrong as a music exec. Hackford's stars are likely to be rewarded with trophies and---better yet---more starring roles.

I was not a Ray Charles aficionado before 'Ray'. Apparently, the film has left out a lot (as do all biopics), but this picture functions as both an old-fashioned crowd pleaser AND a dark investigation of a brilliant/troubled man. For those who whine that Foxx doesn't actually sing (as if that somehow diminishes his performance), take a hike. No mere actor can sing like Mr. Charles anyway. You can't have everything. What the talented star does in this picture is about as close to "everything" as we'll probably see for a while.