Goofs for
Ray (2004/I) More at IMDbPro »

• Anachronisms: The 737-400 aircraft shown landing after Ray Charles returns from the European tour was not introduced until the 1980s.
  
  
• Anachronisms: While touring with Lowell Fulsom, the band drives past a train that includes "spine" rolling stock with containers stacked two high. These cars (along with containers) were not introduced until many years later.
  
  
• Anachronisms: At the 1965 Newport Jazz Festival scene, Quincy Jones is wearing "Ray Bans" sunglasses bearing the familiar Ray Bans logo etched in the corner of one of the lenses. Bausch & Lomb did not begin to etch their Ray Bans lenses with the logo until 1990.
  
  

• Continuity: When playing the piano with the orchestra, Ray's piano alternates from Steinway to Hohner, and the name is on both the side and the front.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In a scene set in 1954, Ray and the guys from Atlantic Records pull up in front of a theater in a 1956 Ford taxicab.
  
  
• Anachronisms: At several points during Ray's early career, the light switches on the wall are a modern style, not seen for years afterwards.
  
  
• Anachronisms: Ray and Bea's first baby has a very modern pacifier in his mouth. Apparently the baby was being truly pacified.
  
  
• Continuity: When the bus arrives to take Ray to Seattle, and he puts his arm out, his arm is alternately up/down between shots.
  
  
• Continuity: When Ray is playing chess near the end of the film, he takes the white queen off the board and lays it on its side. Then the queen is back where it was, and on the third shot, the board is set up for a new game.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Ahmet Ertegun (Ray's friend at Atlantic Records) suggests that Ray try playing "Mess Around," which Ahmet has just written, Ahmet describes it as being in the key of G. Ray then plays it in E-flat.
  
  
• Factual errors: The scene where Charles is met by a group of protesters outside the Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Ga. is a fabrication. Charles canceled his appearance after receiving a telegram from students at a local black college. The promoter successfully sued Charles for breach of contract, but he was never banned from the state of Georgia. When the Georgia state legislature honored Ray Charles in 1979, they didn't apologized for banning him because he was never banned. In the commentary, it is stated that this event actually happened, but those who looked into Georgia's legislature found no record that he was banned, just sued, and later they adopted as their state song "Georgia" - by Ray Charles.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In a scene set in 1961, a police motorcycle is an EVO motored Harley-Davidson, not available until 1984.
  
  
• Anachronisms: The vinyl siding on Bea's and Ray's original house didn't exist in the late 1950s.
  
  
• Continuity: When Ray and Ahmet are talking about doing a session in New York, Ahmet is clean-shaven. The next day, when the session was to take place, Ahmet has a beard and mustache.
  
  
• Anachronisms: In a scene set in the late 1950s, Ray's baby boy is sitting on a Precious Moments blanket. Precious Moments were not introduced until the early 1970s.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: When Ray is frying chicken, he gives "Q" a piece straight from the frying pan. "Q" instantly takes a bite, without blowing or insinuating the chicken is hot in any way. Real fried chicken straight from a hot pan would be impossible to eat instantly.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the opening credits we hear Ray playing a Wurlitzer Electric Piano (later mentioned and shown in the film) but we see a close up of a Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, which sounds very different.
  
  
• Anachronisms: About halfway through the movie Ray scrounges around on the floor trying to pick up some tablets that fell out of a canister. The floor has round rubber tiling of a type not available until 1975.
  
  
• Continuity: When Quincy walks into Ray's bedroom he's carrying his trumpet case and puts in on the floor and walks over to Ray. In the next shot he puts the case on the floor again.
  
  
• Factual errors: At the end of the movie when Ray is being honored by the Georgia legislature in 1979 it shows his wife, Della Bea, standing with him. However, Ray Charles and Della Bea were divorced in 1977.
  
  
• Errors in geography: The film shows an exterior shot of Saenger theater in Alabama when Ray is suppose to be performing in Saint Louis, MO.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the scene where Ray is recording "Georgia on My Mind," the conductor is conducting the wrong beats in one take.
  
  
• Factual errors: They show Ray his new recording studio, which uses fluorescent lighting throughout. Fluorescent lighting is generally not used in recording studios as it can cause a hum in recordings.
  
  
• Errors in geography: When they show the state of Georgia honoring Ray at the state capitol building, it's clearly the House of Representatives in the state of Louisiana, not Georgia.
  
  
• Continuity: When Ray is getting on the bus in the beginning of the film to go to Seattle, Ray extends his arm fully with the ticket in hand for the bus driver. In the next shot, his arm is to his side. In the next shot, its up and extended again
  
  
• Anachronisms: While recording "Georgia On My Mind", the microphone he is singing into reads "ABC-Paramount." At the time, ABC Records did not have it's own recording studio. This particular session was recorded at Capitol Studios in New York City.
  
  
• Anachronisms: When the DJ is playing I've Got A Woman, the record label is red. However, Atlantic records was still using yellow labels on their 45s until # 1083, and this record was # 1050. A red label would be a reissue.
  
  
• Anachronisms: During Ray's World Tour set in the 60's, there is a shot of an airport approach with a clearly visible 737-300 or -400. While the 737 first entered commercial service in 1968, the 300/400 variants weren't introduced until 1985.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: In the extended version, after Ray plays a country song for an audience for the first time and is discussing the lighting with Joe Adams, a "Cut!" is clearly heard at the end of the scene and (interestingly) is even shown on the subtitles.
  
  

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