I was one of the dissenters who loved the music but found the film formulaic and shallow; Jamie Foxx's performance, which seems to channel the late Charles' every move and affectation, was indeed remarkably precise, but it seemed just that — more precise portrayal than performance.

But I did think the musical performances, with Foxx lip-synching Charles' recordings, were wonderfully staged, so I was happy to see the special edition offer more of what I liked: Nine additional songs filmed but not used in the movie, along with the usual making-of documentaries and a featurette about the rapport that existed between Charles (who approved a work print before his death) and Foxx.

What's even more interesting is the first major DVD commercial release of an edition of "Ray" for blind and vision-impaired people, which comes with an audio track describing on-screen action.

Criterion classics

The Criterion Collection just keeps growing, and for film noir fans, the latest must-have title is "Night and the City," Jules Dassin's moody, 1950 portrait of underworld London gorgeously photographed in luminous black and white. Richard Widmark, in one of his finest performances, plays a small-time hustler who backs into a big-time job only to realize he's utterly out of his league.

Film scholar Glenn Erickson provides a great commentary, and two interviews with Dassin are included, along with two entirely separate scores: the original music composed for the English release and a jazzier version for American audiences.

Nearly as good is 1949's "Thieves' Highway" (Criterion), the last film Dassin made in America before being blacklisted, with Richard Conte as a World War II vet who returns seeking vengeance on the man who crippled his father, a long-haul trucker. The DVD contains more Dassin interviews and a commentary by Alain Silver, editor of the "Film Noir Reader."

Also available from Criterion, for the first time, is the impressive debut film from "Last Tango in Paris" director Bernardo Bertolucci, who was only 22 when he finished 1962's "La Commare Seca," shown in the United States as "The Grim Reaper."

"La Commare Seca" is a "Rashomon"-style tale about the murder of a prostitute and the conflicting stories of five suspects, each of whom has his or her version of events. The package includes a new interview with Bertolucci and a fine essay by critic David Thomson.

The director's latest drama, last year's "The Dreamers" (Fox), is based on a novel, and Bertolucci obviously has an affinity for its movie-loving protagonist (Michael Pitt), who finds himself in Paris in time for the May 1968 demonstrations, learning about film, politics and sex from a free-spirited brother and sister. It's available both in the NC-17 theatrical version, and a Wal-Mart- and Blockbuster-friendly R version that removes all the good bits.

2004 version of 'Vanity'

Mira Nair's 2004 "Vanity Fair" (Universal) is a decided departure from previously filmed versions, in that it (over)emphasizes the Indian aspects of Thackeray's classic novel about the manipulations of social-climbing Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon), to no obvious advantage.

It is, however, a far more appealing morality tale than Spike Lee's nearly unfathomable "She Hate Me" (Columbia TriStar), in which a dismissed corporate whistle-blower allows himself to become a one-man stud farm for lesbians. As compensation, we get a special-edition release of Lee's second film, 1988's "School Daze" (Columbia TriStar), a muddled but enjoyable comedy about social politics at an all-black university.

A similar strategy may be at work with last year's English-language remake of "Shall We Dance" (Buena Vista), starring Richard Gere as a dissatisfied husband who takes ballroom dancing lessons from Jennifer Lopez. The story makes more sense, and is far more moving, in its original 1996 Japanese incarnation (Miramax), also out today.

'Old' films back again

There is no shortage of new "old" films worth owning, beginning with 1942's "The Palm Beach Story" (Universal), one of the great screwball comedies from Preston Sturges. Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert are a couple who separate, sending her to Palm Beach and into the arms of rich dimwit Rudy Vallee; McCrea follows in an effort to woo her back.

"The Life of Emile Zola" (Warner) stars Paul Muni as the French writer who stood up for justice in the infamous Dreyfus affair. The 1937 drama won Oscars for best picture, screenplay, and supporting actor.

The best-picture winner in 1982, "Chariots of Fire" (Warner), about the Jewish and Protestant runners who represented Britain in the 1924 Olympics, gets a two-disc special treatment, though it may be better remembered for its score by Vangelis than its plot.

Meanwhile, about all there is to recommend 1992's "The Bodyguard," also getting a two-disc treatment (Warner) is the music, with star Whitney Houston's rendition of "I Will Always Love You."