Just in time for Oscars: ‘Ray’

Ray

Jamie Foxx, Sharon Warren

Universal, $30

Nominated for six Academy Awards including best picture, best actor for Jamie Foxx and best director for Taylor Hackford, “Ray” chronicles the rags-to-riches life and career of R&B; legend Ray Charles, who died at 73 just a few months before the film’s October release. Foxx’s uncanny performance has already won numerous awards, including the Golden Globe and the National Society of Film Critics.

The DVD has the original theatrical version and an extended version with 14 deleted scenes -- the excised scenes are also featured as a stand-alone extra with insightful commentary from Hackford, who struggled 15 years to get the biopic made. There are also two complete and uncut musical performances, a better-than-average “making of” documentary and moving footage of a jam session between Charles and Foxx shot in summer 2002. Hackford proves to be a passionate, exuberant guide in his commentary track.

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The Grudge

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Behr

Sony, $29

Made for less than $10 million, this American version of a popular Japanese horror film grossed more than $110 million at the box office last fall despite less-than-favorable reviews. Produced in Japan and directed by Takashi Shimizu, the filmmaker who also helmed the original, this ghost story stars Sarah Michelle Gellar of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame and Jason Behr of the cult sci-fi series “Roswell.”

The digital edition of the thriller includes a passable “making of” documentary, a brief look at the cultural differences the American stars encountered while making the film in Japan and lively commentary with producer Sam Raimi (“Spider-Man”), his brother Ted, who costars in the film, as well as Gellar, Behr and other cast members.

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Shall We Dance?

Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez

Miramax, $30

Like “The Grudge,” this romantic comedy is a remake of a popular Japanese film. But unlike “Grudge,” this adaptation has been totally Americanized. Richard Gere plays a Chicago executive who feels there is something missing in his life despite having a lovely wife (Susan Sarandon) and two teenage children. Without telling his wife, he decides on a whim to take ballroom dancing lessons. Lopez plays a former championship dancer now teaching in the studio.

The extras on the DVD are pleasant, with a fun featurette on ballroom dancing -- the highlight of the documentary. Director Peter Chelsom, who admits he initially turned down the project because of his admiration for the original movie, supplies the enchanting commentary track.

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Vanity Fair

Reese Witherspoon, Gabriel Byrne

Universal, $30

America’s sweetheart Reese Witherspoon tackles one of British literature’s most famous heroines, Becky Sharp, in Indian director Mira Nair’s adaptation of the 19th century William Makepeace Thackeray novel. The film, which also stars Gabriel Byrne, Bob Hoskins and Eileen Atkins, follows the coquette’s ambitious attempts to rise from a dirt-poor orphan to the heights of British society. “Vanity Fair” met with lukewarm critical and commercial response last September.

Two passable behind-the-scenes documentaries and several deleted scenes including an alternate title sequence are included on the DVD. Nair offers often funny commentary in which she even admits she’s long harbored a crush on Byrne.

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Susan King

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Also this week

“Mr. 3000,” starring Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett (Buena Vista: $29.99); “She Hate Me, “ directed by Spike Lee (Columbia TriStar: $24.96); and the comedy “Pauly Shore Is Dead” (Fox: $27.98).

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Top video rentals

1. “Friday Night Lights”

2. “The Forgotten”

3. “Without a Paddle”

4. “Cellular”

5. “The Village”

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What’s coming

Tuesday: “Shark Tale,” “The Notebook,” “P.S.,” “Zelary,” “Jay-Z: Fade to Black,” “Eulogy,” “Bright Young Things” and “Remember Me, My Love”

Feb. 15: “The Motorcycle Diaries,” “Saw,” “Taxi,” “Raise Your Voice” and “Yes Men”

Feb. 22: “I {heart} Huckabees” and “Around the Bend”

March 1: “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie,” “Exorcist: The Beginning,” “Flight of the Phoenix” and “Incident at Loch Ness”

March 8: “Ladder 49,” “Christmas With the Kranks,” “Stage Beauty,” “Lightning in a Bottle” and “Woman Thou Art Loosed”

March 15: “The Incredibles,” “Alfie,” “What the Bleep Do We Know?” and “Man of the Year”

March 22: “Finding Neverland,” “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” “Being Julia,” “Final Cut” and “The Dust Factory”

March 29: “After the Sunset,” “Seed of Chucky” and “National Lampoon’s Golddiggers”

April 5: “Primer”