Publisher's Synopsis
Double-bill of music dramas. 'Cadillac Records' (2008) tells the story of Chess records, home to some of the greatest rhythm 'n' blues artists the US ever produced. Following the story from 1947, when Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) opened up his small studio on the south side of Chicago, to the late 1960s, when changing tastes forced him to retire from the business, the film tells of the highs and lows in the lives and careers of Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Etta James (Beyonce Knowles), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer) and Little Walter (Columbus Short), as they deal with fame, sex, drugs, violence and racism in the changing America of the rock 'n' roll era. 'Ray' (2004) is the Oscar-winning biopic of the legendary blues, soul and jazz musician, Ray Charles. Even though he had lost his sight as a young boy and grew up in a segregated, racist society, Ray Charles (Jamie Foxx) is determined to follow his love of music and begins a successful tour of the American south. With a career that begins to grow beyond all expectations throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Ray starts struggling with drug addiction and with failed relationships that take their toll on his health. But throughout all this, he never loses his love of music, eventually becoming a Grammy Award-winning icon and one of the most popular musicians of the twentieth century.
