5 Great Movies Brad Bird Says to Watch Before Netflix’s ‘Ray Gunn’
Ahead of the December release of his sci-fi noir Ray Gunn, director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) has recommended five classic films that inspired the project, a hybrid he describes as "The Maltese Falcon meets Buck Rogers". Speaking to Polygon at the Annecy Film Festival, Bird explained his fascination with retro-futuristic worlds that look as a person 70 years ago might have imagined the future, a style reflected in Ray Gunn's Art Deco skyscrapers, jetpacks and flying cars.
Ray Gunn stars Sam Rockwell as a private investigator in the city of Metropia, alongside Scarlett Johansson, and arrives on Netflix on 18 December. Bird's picks span classic and modern noir, illustrating the genre's blend of hard-boiled detective work, moral corruption and stylish world-building:
– The Killing (1956) — Stanley Kubrick's Hollywood debut, a heist noir that influenced Reservoir Dogs
– Chinatown (1974) — Roman Polanski's "practically perfect" film starring Jack Nicholson as a PI uncovering a sinister conspiracy
– L.A. Confidential (1997) — Curtis Hanson's star-studded adaptation of James Ellroy's novel about corrupt 1950s LAPD officers
– The Big Lebowski (1998) — the Coen brothers' Raymond Chandler-inspired comedy following an accidental detective
– Blade Runner 2049 (2017) — Denis Villeneuve's "superior sequel", whose visuals Bird says informed Ray Gunn's look
- Brad Bird names five noir films that inspired his Netflix movie Ray Gunn
- Ray Gunn, starring Sam Rockwell, premieres on Netflix 18 December
- Picks include Chinatown, L.A. Confidential and Blade Runner 2049
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Bird made his name directing family-friendly animation for Pixar, including The Incredibles and Ratatouille, but Ray Gunn marks a shift into live-action science-fiction noir. The film, out on Netflix on 18 December, follows a private investigator played by Sam Rockwell in a retro-futuristic city called Metropia, with Scarlett Johansson also starring, and imagines the future as people decades ago might have pictured it, full of Art Deco buildings and flying cars.
Noir is a style of storytelling built around cynical detectives, moral corruption and shadowy visuals, first popular in 1940s and 50s crime films. Bird has cited five films as touchstones for the tone and world-building of Ray Gunn, ranging from Chinatown and The Big Lebowski to the more recent Blade Runner 2049, which together show how the genre mixes hard-boiled investigation with stylish, atmospheric settings.
The film matters partly because it represents a notable departure for Bird into a new genre and format, and because Netflix is investing in original, big-name projects to draw viewers ahead of the busy December release period.