CADILLAC RECORDS is a writer/director Darnell Martin's riveting ensemble film depicting the rise, in the early-‘50s to late-‘60s, of key musical figures at the crossroads between blues, rhythm & blues, and rock & roll. Based on the true story of the original Chicago-based purveyors of electric blues, Chess Records, it centers on two men: Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody), a Polish-Jewish nightclub owner; and Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), a transplanted Mississippi sharecropper with sights set on musical stardom. After hearing Waters's electrified Delta blues during a tussle at his nightclub, Chess decides to pool his resources into releasing what were then called "race records." Soon a coterie of label talent, from Little Walter and Howlin' Wolf, to Chuck Berry and Etta James, help to propel the fledgling label to the top of the charts--with each hit-maker rewarded by Chess with a shiny new Cadillac automobile. While sometimes playing loose with some minor historical points, the film truly hits the mark with its attention to visual detail, from costumes and cars, down to vintage recording equipment, all of it is a feast for period buffs. But what truly makes CADILLAC RECORDS captivating are the exceptional musical performances of Beyonce Knowles (Etta James) and Mos Def (Chuck Berry), two of the finest musicians-turned-actors of their time. Ultimately, CADILLAC RECORDS' most potent message may be the boundless ability that much of this music had in transcending the unsettling realities facing blacks of the time. From Payola (the practice of bribing disc jockeys to play "race records") and segregation, to white performers pilfering songs written by blacks, all of it is handled with admirable aplomb in this enjoyable, often edifying, film.

Blu-ray Disc Features:

Region 0
Keep Case
Package Note: Region ABC
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital Surround, Stereo - English
Dolby True HD 5.1 - English, French
Dubbed, Subtitles - French
Subtitles - English - SDH
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary: Darnell Martin, Director/Writer
Behind the Scenes: Once Upon a Blues: Cadillac Records by Design
Making Of: Playing Chess: The Making of Cadillac Records
Interactive Features:
BD Live
The Chess Record Player – An Interactive Music Playlist

Distributor Notes: "Cadillac Records" chronicles the rise of Leonard Chess' (Adrien Brody) Chess Records and its recording artists including Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Willie Dixon (Cedric The Entertainer) and the great Etta James (Beyonce Knowles). In this tale of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in Chicago of the 1950s and 60s, the film follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's greatest musical legends.

Adrien Brody: American Actor, THE PIANIST (2002)
Jeffrey Wright: Actor/"Basquiat"
Beyonce Knowles: Actress, AUSTIN POWERS 3 (2002)
Mos Def: Hip-Hop Artist/Actor
Gabrielle Union: American actress, BRING IT ON
Columbus Short: Actor, STEPPIN' (2007)
 Cedric the Entertainer: 
Emmanuelle Chriqui: Actress
Eamonn Walker: actor, ONCE IN THE LIFE

Darnell Martin: Director

Andrew Lack: Producer
Sofia Sondervan: Executive Producer, PARTY MONSTER (2003)

Darnell Martin: Director

Terence Blanchard: Composer, WAIST DEEP (2006)

"Mos Def makes a terrific Berry, all flash and confidence, and Wright offers a memorably soulful take on Waters..."
"Knowles captures James' emotional vulnerability and is substantially better than she was in DREAMGIRLS....She shines most when singing."
"The casting throughout is successful. Columbus Short suggests the building inner torments of Little Walter, and Cedric the Entertainer plays the singer-songwriter Willie Dixon as a creator and synthesizer."
"Wright plays Waters as an elegant tomcat in boxy suits....Then there's Chuck Berry -- played by Mos Def, who nails the legend's apple-cheeked charisma as well as his saucy grooves." -- Grade: B+
"[A] rollicking and insightful celebration of Chicago blues in its hectic golden age....Enriched by the skill and verve of a prodigious ensemble..."
3 stars out of 5 -- "Beyonce is luminous as the driven diva. Also excellent is Mos Def as an up-for-anything Chuck Berry."
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he music kicks up a storm, and the real revelation is Knowles, who burns a hole in the screen as sexy, drug-addled siren Etta..."
"[Beyonce Knowles] performs dynamic versions of Etta James classics and delivers the dramatic goods as the troubled and badly addicted young woman who lives the blues she sings."