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List Price: $19.98 Our Price: $12.95 You Save: $7.03 Features • AC-3 • Color • Dolby • Subtitled • Widescreen In Theaters : 29 October, 2004 DVD Release : 08 August, 2006 |
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Ray [HD DVD] description Jamie Foxx's uncannily accurate performance isn't the only good thing about Ray. Riding 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 approved shortly before his death in June 2004. Despite a few dramatic embellishments of actual incidents (such as the suggestion that the accidental drowning of Charles's younger brother caused all the inner demons that Charles would battle into adulthood), the film does a remarkable job of summarizing Charles's strengths as a musical innovator and his weaknesses as a philandering heroin addict who recorded some of his best songs while flying high as a kite. Foxx seems to be channeling Charles himself, and as he did with the life of Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, director Taylor Hackford gets most of the period details absolutely right as he chronicles Ray's rise from "chitlin circuit" performer in the early '50s to his much-deserved elevation to legendary status as one of the all-time great musicians. Foxx expertly lip-syncs to Ray Charles' classic recordings, but you could swear he's the real deal in a film that honors Ray Charles without sanitizing his once-messy life. --Jeff Shannon |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | A SONG OF PRAISE FOR RAY |
| When it was released many people have hailed the movie RAY as something spectacular. Critics loved the film. It did well at the box office. And it also won Jamie Foxx the Oscar for best actor. The question is did it deserve all of this attention? Simply put, yes.
RAY is the life story of singer Ray Charles, the legendary performer who transcended racial lines to become one of the most popular and successful entertainers in the world. From his poor beginnings through his troubled time dealing with drugs, all are covered here. The film starts with Ray looking for work, getting hired and being used by someone he thought of as his friend. His journey through a business where that is more the norm than the exception is made all that more difficult because of the fact that Ray is blind. But this is no handicap for him; rather it brings his other senses to life, giving him eyes like no others. Ray's popularity rises as does his abilities. A meeting with Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong) leads to Ray recording on the Atlantic label and finding a much larger audience then he had had up to that point in time. While popular with black crowds, Ray now was placed front and center in the charts with ALL artists. And his popularity rose. But at the same time, so did his addictions. The movie portrays Ray as a womanizer, feeling the beauty of a woman by simply holding her hands so that he could run his up her wrists to learn how lovely she was (a scene that adds humor to the mix). After marrying Della Bea Robinson (Kerry Washington), Ray continues to have his flings while on the road. But he always returns home to Bea. But womanizing was not the worst temptation that Ray faced on the road. Early on he began using drugs, heroin in particular, which were introduced to him by fellow musicians. Thinking he could control it, he hid his addiction from everyone save his fellow users. And in the end it was the drugs that took control over Ray. He may have been able to perform, to write, to compose, but the price he paid was high. So we find ourselves with a movie about a man who faced multiple challenges. He faced the scars left on him by the sight of a tragedy in his youth. He faced the physical challenge of overcoming his loss of sight. He overcame his addiction to drugs. And he overcame his love of all women for the love of one. And through this journey of this man's life, we are offered a movie that inspires as well as warns, a movie that is a joy to experience. Director Taylor Hackford knows this territory well. Having made THE IDOLMAKER in 1980, Hackford remembers what music was all about in the early days. His talents are visible here in everything from the motions of his camera to the emotion he invokes from his actors. And every scene is one that holds the viewers attention. But perhaps the most singular praise in this film should go to Jamie Foxx. I've watched Foxx for years, having been a big fan of his from his days on IN LIVING COLOR. Roles I films like BOOTY CALL and BAIT were countered with films like ANY GIVEN SUNDAY and COLLATERAL. But he shines here like no other role he has done to date. While watching this film I can think of but one compliment to pay Foxx and that is that while watching I never once felt I was looking at Jamie Foxx. I thought that I was watching the real Ray Charles. I completely believed him in this role. The movie is entertaining. The movie is informative. The movie is filled with the great music of Ray Charles. And above all, the film offers us a definitive Oscar performance by one Jamie Foxx. |
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