Ray Charles Movies

This strange, disjointed feature film boasts a performance by Muhammed Ali as himself, clowning his way around a Black rodeo held near Harlem at Randall's Island, NY. Among the features of this film is an extended discussion by actor Woody Strode on the long-suppressed history of the Black Cowboy. Another unusual feature of the film is the running commentary by rodeo spectators, as they relate what it means to them to be at such an event. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Blues For Lovers, Ballad in Blue was the last of actor Paul Henreid's theatrical-film directorial efforts. R&B legend Ray Charles plays himself, attempting to help a newly blinded British boy adjust to sightlessness. Charles is no actor, but he has a natural ease and grace that many "real" movie stars might envy. As a bonus, we get to hear him perform such favorites as "What'd I Say?" and "I Got a Woman". Monika Henreid, the daughter of the director, can be seen in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hosted by Glen Campbell, Coming Home: An Evening of Gospel features performances by such respected performers as Deniece Williams, Andrae Crouch, and The Hawkins Family as well as the beloved Ray Charles. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

As its title suggests, the release Glen Campbell: Good Times Again actually culls and presents, in a single collection, an hour of the best performances from the now legendary musical variety series Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, which ran on CBS from January 1969 through June 1972. The 11 musical numbers herein find Campbell pairing up with such duettists as Anne Murray (one of the series mainstays), Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, Roger Miller, B.J. Thomas and others; Campbell also acts out a comedy sketch with Tom Smothers. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The winner of the 1967 Oscar for Best Picture (as well as four other Oscars), In the Heat of the Night is set in a small Mississippi town where an unusual murder has been committed. Rod Steiger plays sheriff Bill Gillespie, a good lawman despite his racial prejudices. When Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a well-dressed northern African-American, comes to town, Gillespie instinctively puts him under arrest as a murder suspect. Tibbs reveals himself to be a Philadelphia police detective; after he and Gillespie come to a grudging understanding of one another, Tibbs offers to help in Gillespie's investigation. As the case progresses, both Gillespie and Tibbs betray a tendency to jump to culture-dictated conclusions. Still, the case is solved thanks to the informal teamwork of the two law officers. Based on the novel by John Ball, In the Heat of the Night inspired two sequels, both starring Poiter as Virgil Tibbs. In 1987, a TV series version of In the Heat of the Night appeared, with Carroll O'Connor as Gillespie and Howard Rollins as Tibbs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this Faustian tale, a Chicago Grain Exchange employee (Nancy Allen) signs a pact with the Devil in order to get a leg up in soybean futures. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

The 1939 Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer romance Love Affair, remade with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in 1957 as An Affair to Remember, became a vehicle for real-life couple Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in this 1994 rendition. The well-worn story remains the same, as a man and a woman, both engaged to other people, fall madly in love while traveling, indulge in a brief but intense affair, then agree to part and sort out their feelings. They are to meet again at the top of the Empire State Building if their feelings persist, but a series of unfortunate circumstances threatens to keep the lovers apart. Despite polished visuals and a time-tested narrative, this variation suffers in comparison to its two predecessors, not to mention the previous year's Sleepless in Seattle, which had drawn on An Affair to Remember for several of its most memorable sequences. It does features Katherine Hepburn's first film appearance in 13 years. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This (13th) time around, "007" receives the usual call to come and visit "Mother" when another agent drops off a fake Faberge jeweled egg at the British embassy in East Berlin and is later killed at a traveling circus. Suspicions mount when the assistant manager of the circus Kamal (Louis Jourdan), outbids Bond for the real Faberge piece at Sotheby's. Bond follows Kamal to India where the superspy thwarts many an ingenious attack and encounters the antiheroine of the title (Maud Adams), an international smuggler who runs the circus as a cover for her illegal operations. It does not take long to figure out that Orlov (Steven Berkoff), a decidedly rank Russian general is planning to raise enough money with the fake Faberges to detonate a nuclear bomb in Europe and then defeat NATO forces once and for all in conventional warfare. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In the early '50s, Ray Charles took the fiery passion of gospel and the hard-hitting sound of the blues, and by putting them together he created a whole new sound in rhythm & blues that helped make him a legend in American music. Nearly half a century later, Charles revisits his gospel roots in this performance video, in which he joins forces with the 120-member vocal group the Jubilation Gospel Choir for a stirring program of Christmas music. Ray Charles Celebrates a Gospel Christmas With the Voices of Jubilation includes the songs "The First Noel," "Silent Night," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Christmas Song," and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ray Charles in Concert features the Grammy-winning living legend in a charity concert for the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Viewers are treated to 16 selections from Charles' works, including a pair of duets with Grammy-winning jazz performer Dianne Schuur. The audience is treated to renditions of "I Got a Woman," "A Song for You," "It Hurts to Be in Love," "Georgia on My Mind," "The Good Life," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "It Had to Be You," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," "Till There Was You," "Say No More," "Blues for Big Scotia," "If You Go Away," "All I Ever Need Is You," "Love in Three Quarter Time," and "America the Beautiful." ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide