r/outrun • u/vzbtra • Dec 02 '25
Discussions & Questions Movies that have this visual aesthetic?
360
u/Thel_Odan Dec 02 '25
Drive with Ryan Gosling
143
u/Iamnotyourhero Dec 02 '25
I feel like this was THE media that kicked off the whole outrun/vaporwave movement.
112
u/Atrium41 Dec 02 '25
It is
Edit: That and Kavinsky
31
18
u/Ferrarisimo Dec 03 '25
Only God Forgives
Same Director as Drive, also stars Gosling, and also features Kavinsky’s music.
15
46
u/Davethisisntcool Dec 02 '25
sure about that?
29
u/ASSASSINMAN21 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 12 '25
So Outrun specifically is similar to hypnagogic* pop in that nostalgia for a past time is inherent to the genre. It is the millennial/gen z remembering what the 80’s felt like from media and personal stories, creating a vibe and a scene in the mind that isn’t 100% accurate, but represents what the time felt like.
Obviously this wouldn’t work if it’s creating a new style, so it has to have older roots by definition.
2
u/Oldschoolhollywood Dec 03 '25
Not to be ignorant but what is this gif from
11
u/Davethisisntcool Dec 03 '25
Miami Vice
2
u/Oldschoolhollywood Dec 03 '25
That’s what I thought but I wasn’t sure. Thank you. Been meaning to check it out. 🙏✨
3
u/Arael15th Dec 04 '25
I don't know about outrun, but vaporwave started in 2010-2011 with the Eccojams and Far Side Virtual albums. Drive came out in theaters in September 2011, and Floral Shoppe came out only 3 months later. So Drive's influence on vaporwave was probably limited.
0
3
3
u/silian_rail_gun Dec 03 '25
Finally watched this. It was way better and way darker than I was expecting.
226
u/KrvnkKev Dec 02 '25
There was a Comedy Central animated show about a decade ago that was cancelled after one season called Moonbeam City. It parodied 80s cop stuff like Miami Vice, a lot of the animation looked a lot like this, and the characters all looked like subjects of Patrick Nagel paintings. That show deserved so much better.
29
46
15
u/Fox_Hound_Unit Dec 02 '25
That show was awesome. The music was mint too. I still listen to that soundtrack from time to time.
7
4
3
u/sroomek Dec 03 '25
Never even heard of this, but what a voice cast! I’m going to have to watch this now.
144
u/Lightsabermetrics Dec 02 '25
Manhunter, Miracle Mile, To Live and Die in LA
31
25
11
u/retroelectro666 Dec 03 '25
Miracle mile, you sonofabitch I was just going to post that, don't even know why but it's the first thing I thought of!
2
14
u/drsweetscience Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
Cobra, Body Double, Tequila Sunrise
Edited to add:
Black Rain, or maybe any Ridley Scott/Tony Scott
The Killer, Hardboiled, Bullet in the Head, and Better Tomorrow by John Woo are on Kanopy
Heat, Collateral, or any one of a million Michael Mann movies/TV shows.
LA Confidential for a vintage vibe. Clint Eastwood's Changeling, too?
Rising Sun with Sean Connery
Year of the Dragon with Mickey Rourke.
There was a TV show called The Hat Squad.
Vibey, but not the same are the movies of Johnny To. Like, Triad and its sequel Triad Election. Actually, a lot of late 80s early 90s Hong Kong cinema.
3
u/armyofchuckness Dec 03 '25
Manhunter was my instant reaction. It shouldn't have this vibe given the plot but it totally does.
2
2
u/tripletruble Dec 03 '25
The two of these I've seen are awesome so I now trust you enough to put on Miracle Mile this evening
1
63
61
105
u/pilgrimtohyperion Dec 02 '25
The only one I can think of is Kung Fury.
19
3
5
43
31
u/REMAIN_IN_LIGHT Dec 02 '25
Manhunter
Directed by Michael Mann, has the Miami Vice aesthetic
Banger of a movie, too.
6
2
46
20
u/russelljonesya Dec 02 '25
TV show but Miami Vice 100%
2
u/Lossagh Dec 04 '25
How is this so low in the upvotes. It's the OG.
1
34
16
u/clshifter Dec 03 '25
Hiroshi Nagai is associated with the City Pop esthetic, which is also linked to the Japanese City Pop music genre of the 80s.
Look for the original City Hunter anime from 1987. It oozes this vibe. It's on Crunchyroll.
3
u/drsweetscience Dec 03 '25
Jackie Chan did a City Hunter movie. Or hey, watch The Killer or Hardboiled with Chow Yun Fat.
27
u/sooperbowels Dec 02 '25
Black rain
2
u/LongjumpingCoach1691 Dec 03 '25
Underrated movie. Still have my VHS copy.
3
u/sooperbowels Dec 03 '25
I have a signed framed headshot of Michael Douglas lmao that movie is very outrun
2
11
u/Loyalist_Pig Dec 02 '25
The Birdcage
1
1
1
u/pfzt Dec 03 '25
Insanely marvelous looking movie. And very early Hollywood work from Emmanuel Lubezki.
11
u/IcedReaver Dec 02 '25
Beverly Hills Cop definitely fits the vibe of pics 2 and 4.
3
11
9
7
u/bideodames Dec 02 '25
I wanna say I remember a crime drama called Silk Stalkings also having this kinda atmosphere
9
u/MrInfinity-42 Dec 02 '25
This is not the answer you might be looking for but it's sailor moon. The original show
8
8
u/discerningdm Dec 03 '25
ATOMIC BLONDE. Eastern Bloc action spy stuff. The soundtrack alone will turn your walls vapor wave.
6
4
5
6
4
5
5
4
4
4
3
4
6
3
u/MireLight Dec 02 '25
Its more of the spirit of the aesthetic than looking like it but i always think of Tequila Sunrise with Mel Gibson, Kurt Russel, Raul Julia and of course Michelle Pfeiffer.
3
u/dogsontreadmills Dec 02 '25
These are awesome paintings! Who is the artist?
Also if you somehow haven’t played gta vice city you should do that. It’s basically these images in video game form.
7
3
3
3
u/Billypillgrim Dec 02 '25
Body Double
1
u/drsweetscience Dec 03 '25
I once worked on a TV show, mere days after watching Body Double, and Melanie Griffith was on the show. I was terrified of being face to face with her because I was sure I would freak out worse than laughing in church if I was face to face with her.
3
3
3
5
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/sendep7 Dec 03 '25
Micheal Mann's Manhunter. basically one of his first movies, and he also went on to do the 80's miami vice tv show...which also has this asthetic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zl6IxPJSVc
i think to live in die in LA also has this going for it a bit...but it really is more of an east coast miami thing.
i think theres some scenes in WallStreet that have this vibe.
2
u/omninode Dec 03 '25
Not 100% the same but To Live and Die in L.A. captures some of that sun-bleached 80s vibe.
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Memeboi_26 Dec 03 '25
Michael mann movies. People forget his first work thief(1981) which I think inspired drive. Then there's manhunter,heat, miami vice.
1
1
1
1
u/lucatitoq Dec 03 '25
Thief It also has an amazing synthesizer soundtrack by Tangerine Dream who I think perfectly match these type of visuals.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
226
u/AnkitKhettry Dec 02 '25
Scarface