The story of Ray Charles’ rise to fame is both tragic and inspiring.

Still, the DVD is missing a lot of features, and a Special Edition may be required to truly do justice to this brilliant film. On the plus side, the DVD includes an extremely informative commentary by director Taylor Hackford, and there is also an extensive library of deleted scenes. The special features also include a short-but-sweet tribute to the late Charles, as well as some interesting clips.

The first mistake the DVD makes comes in the optional “Extended Version”, which abruptly tries to include all the deleted scenes. Beyond this, the movie has been in production for over fifteen years. Taylor Hackford only begun filming when he was sure he had the right person to play Ray Charles. There should be more about the production of “Ray” as a movie, but there is hardly 10 minutes of the special features devoted to the making of the film. While there are a few good features, the DVD still lacks a lot of details into the making of an extraordinary film.