Despite the loss of his eyesight when he was just a boy, Ray Charles Robinson (Foxx) was able to find strength and success. Following Ray from his humble beginnings as a musician to making award-winning songs, the story touches on his drug problems, rocky love life, and haunting memories of his childhood. (Suzanne Hodges)
Special features include commentary with Director Taylor Hackford, 14 deleted scenes (also with optional Hackford commentary), eight extended musical scenes, over ten minutes of behind-the-scenes studio footage with Ray Charles and Jamie Foxx, four minutes of thoughts and comments about Ray, a three-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, the theatrical trailer, nine minutes of what it took to get this film made, ten minutes with the women who knew Ray, and nearly 30 minutes profiling the life of this legend.
The 1.85:1, VC-1-encoded HD DVD picture is impressive, with well-detailed images. The picture is stylized, especially the yellow, washed-out flashbacks. Color fidelity can have a nostalgic feel, while flesh tones look accurate and blacks are quite deep. For the most part, the picture looks very good. (Danny Richelieu)
The Dolby® Digital Plus 5.1-channel encoding is generally limited to the screen channels and basic surround envelopment. Deep bass is delivered through each of the channels. (Danny Richelieu)