《Ray》　靈魂歌王　一個真切的男人，一段傳奇的故事

No.056　《Ray》　靈魂歌王　一個真切的男人，一段傳奇的故事

英文導讀

Ray is a 2004 biographical film focusing on 30 years of the life of rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was directed by Taylor Hackford and starred Jamie Foxx in the title role.

Directed by Taylor Hackford, this biopic profiles the life of legendary musician Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx). Born in a poor town in Georgia, Ray Charles went blind at the age of seven shortly after witnessing his younger brother's accidental death. Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world, Charles found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered incorporating gospel, country, jazz and orchestral influences into his inimitable style. As he revolutionized the way people appreciated music, he simultaneously fought segregation in the very clubs that launched him and championed artists' rights within the corporate music business. While the film delves into his problems with drugs and women, the bulk of the story details his career; among the highlights of that career are 12 Grammy awards and 11 R&B chart-toppers, such as "Unchain My Heart", "Hit the Road, Jack", "Georgia", "Doin' the Mess Around", and "Hallelujah I Just Love Her So".

Ray was released in theaters on October 29, 2004 on a budget of $40 million. The film went on to become a box-office hit, earning $75 million in the U.S. with an additional $50 million internationally, bringing its world wide gross to $125 million.

The film received mostly positive reviews. Most of the praise went to Jamie Foxx's performance for which he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film however did receive some bad reviews, with critics complaining that the film suffered from a mediocre screenplay buoyed by powerful performances. Currently Ray has a certified fresh rating of 81% based on 188 reviews at Rotten Tomatoes.

Ray won two Academy Awards in 2005, including Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jamie Foxx) and Best Sound Mixing (Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa). The film was nominated for other four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Taylor Hackford), Best Editing (Paul Hirsch) and Best Costume Design (Sharen Davis).

獲獎情況

2005年第77屆奧斯卡：最佳男主角、最佳混音獎，并榮獲最佳影片提名、最佳導演提名、最佳服裝設計提名、最佳剪輯提名。

影片信息

導演：泰勒·?？烁５?/p>

編?。禾├?middot;?？烁５?、詹姆斯·L·懷特

主演：杰米·福克斯、雷吉娜·金、凱麗·華盛頓

類型：劇情、音樂、傳記

制片國家（地區(qū)）：美國

上映日期：2004-10-14（美國）

片長：152分鐘、178分鐘（加長版）

又名：《雷》《騷靈樂父》《心靈傳奇——雷.查爾斯的一生》《狂愛樂與怒》《光芒》

劇情簡介

這是一部傳記電影。雷·查爾斯（杰米·?？怂埂★棧┏錾谝粋€貧窮的黑人家庭，患有青光眼的他，因缺乏必要的醫(yī)療條件，而喪失了視力。但是，小查爾斯沒有從此自暴自棄，而是在母親的教育和引導下，很快地熟悉了盲文，并通過盲文接觸了他人生的第一個樂譜。

查爾斯在音樂方面異于常人的天賦很快就展現(xiàn)出來了。他的很多樂器演奏能力早已超出了很多視力正常的音樂家的水平。

母親過世后，15歲的雷·查爾斯輟學來到西雅圖，開始了在南方的巡回演唱，他的演出獲得了空前的成功，他也自此走上了對音樂不懈追求的一生。

20世紀60年代，雷·查爾斯在音樂上獲得了突破。他成功地將鄉(xiāng)村、爵士、管弦和教會音樂完美地結合在一起，創(chuàng)造出一種別人無法模仿的個人風格，這種優(yōu)美的音樂逐漸獲得了世界音樂界的認可，他也被看作是一個音樂史上的奇跡。他的唱片開始熱銷，并且有多只單曲登上了排行榜，他獲得了邀請開始了他人生中的第一次在歐洲的個人演唱會，并且將各種不同類型的音樂融合在一起，將它們的魅力不斷發(fā)揚光大，在音樂界引起了巨大的反響……

制作花絮

影片在美國新奧爾良拍攝。影片的美術設計為因《高斯福德莊園》而贏得奧斯卡提名的斯蒂芬·奧特曼，由于影片預算有限，所以不得不選用部分雷同的歷史畫面，并據(jù)此搭建布景。在整部影片中，有2/3的部分屬于實景拍攝。

全片出現(xiàn)了40首歌曲，擔任配樂工作的是蘇格蘭作曲家克雷格·阿姆斯特朗，這位音樂天才曾為《紅磨坊》配樂，不但精通古典音樂，還曾為麥當娜、U2和大舉進攻樂隊編寫歌曲。

雷·查爾斯因肝功能衰竭病逝于2004年6月10日，當時影片已經(jīng)拍畢，并且雷看過了初剪版本。

在拍攝過程中，為了達到失明效果，杰米·?？怂姑刻於家宕髁x眼長達14小時。

根據(jù)雷的要求，劇本曾被譯成盲文供其閱讀。

導演于1987年便取得了拍攝權，但因找不到投資商而擱置多年。

片中雷的妻子的扮演者確實是雷的第二任妻子。

重點學習

Inspired by a fiercely independent mother who insisted he make his own way in the world

文中的make one' s (his) own way in the world相當于make one' s (his) own way，是英語中的一個固定短語，是“發(fā)跡，飛黃騰達，獲得成功”的意思，比如：If anyone tries to tell you that you can't sing your own song, or make your way in the world…prove them wrong.（假如有人告訴你，你不能我行我素，或者在這世界上，你無法成功……向他們證明，他們錯了。）

Then exploded with worldwide fame

文中的explode with是英語中的一個固定搭配，它是“（歡呼、憤怒等強烈感情）爆發(fā)出，突發(fā)，迸發(fā)，發(fā)作”的意思，比如：Such anger filled her that she felt she might explode with it.（她怒火中燒，感到自己快要爆炸了。）

單詞時間

musician[mju:?zi??n] n. 音樂家

independently[?indi?pend?ntli] adv. 獨立地；自立地

profile[?pr?ufail] vt. 描…的輪廓；扼要描述

blind[blaind] adj. 盲目的；瞎的

keyboard[?ki:b?:d] n. 鍵盤

soulful[?s?ulful] adj. 感情上的；高尚的；充滿精神的

pioneer[?pai??ni?] vt. 開辟；倡導；提倡

gospel[?ɡ?sp?l] n. 真理；信條

orchestral[?:?kestr?l] adj. 管弦樂的；管弦樂隊的

inimitable[i?nimit?bl] adj. 獨特的；無比的；無法仿效的

segregation[?seɡri?ɡei??n] n. 隔離，分離；種族隔離

highlight[?hailait] n. 最精彩的部分；最重要的事情；加亮區(qū)

buoy[b?i?] vt. 使浮起；支撐；鼓勵

mediocre[?mi:di??uk?] adj. 普通的；平凡的；中等的