The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to st... Read allThe story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.The story of the life and career of the legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles, from his humble beginnings in the South, where he went blind at age seven, to his meteoric rise to stardom during the 1950s and 1960s.
- Director
- Writers
- Taylor Hackford(story)
- James L. White(story)
- Stars
- Director
- Writers
- Taylor Hackford(story)
- James L. White(story)
- Stars
- Won 2 Oscars
- 53 wins & 54 nominations total
Videos5
- Gossie McGeeas Gossie McGee
- (as Terrence Dashon Howard)
- Director
- Writers
- Taylor Hackford(story)
- James L. White(story) (screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
- Taglines
- The extraordinary life story of Ray Charles. A man who fought harder and went farther than anyone thought possible.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG-13 for depiction of drug addiction, sexuality and some thematic elements
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaAt his request, the screenplay was translated into Braille for Ray Charles to read.
- GoofsAt the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival, Quincy is wearing "Ray Bans" sunglasses bearing the familiar 1990 Ray Bans logo on the corner of one lens.
- Quotes
Ray Charles: [responding to knock on his door] Who is it?
Ahmet Ertegun: Mr. Charles, my name is Ahmet Ertegun. May I have a moment of your time?
Ray Charles: [opening door] What do you want, man? I'm at church.
Ahmet Ertegun: I'm sorry. I'll come back later.
Ray Charles: You're here now, what do you want?
Ahmet Ertegun: Mr. Charles, my company, Atlantic Records, has just acquired your contract from Swingtime. I'd like to talk about your future.
Ray Charles: Hold on, man. Don't jive me now. I ain't for sale.
Ahmet Ertegun: May I sit down?
[Sits in chair]
Ahmet Ertegun: You see it seems that Jack Lauderdale has found himself, shall we say, a little over extended and has had to unload some of his talent. When your name came up I jumped at the chance to work with you. I'm a big fan.
Ray Charles: What if I want to go to another company? There's a guy out there right now that's willing to pay me seven cents a record. Can you do that?
Ahmet Ertegun: Man, I could promise you fifteen cents a record but you won't get it. Anymore than he'll pay you seven. What I will do is promise you five cents a record and pay you five cents a record. You think pennies, Mr. Charles, you get pennies. You think dollars, you get dollars.
Ray Charles: I like the way you put things together. Omlet, you're alright with me.
Ahmet Ertegun: Ahmet.
Ray Charles: Ahmet. What kind of a name is that anyway.
Ahmet Ertegun: I'm Turkish.
Ray Charles: Well, it looks like Jack Lauderdale's bad luck is my good fortune. I always knew Atlantic was bigger than Swingtime. You do great music there. I dig Atlantic.
Ahmet Ertegun: You could have fooled me.
Ray Charles: Well, I gotta keep my eye on you city boys. Back home they call it country dumb.
[Starts laughing]
Ray Charles: It ain't Turkish.
- Crazy creditsRay Charles is survived by 12 children, 21 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.
- Alternate versionsUniversal Pictures Oscar Edition contains Extended Cut of the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards 2005 (2005)
- SoundtracksWhat'd I Say
Written by Ray Charles
Performed by Ray Charles
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Strategic Marketing
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.
- flickershows
- Dec 19, 2004
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $75,331,600
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $20,039,730
- Oct 31, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $123,971,376
- Runtime2 hours 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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