Following a profitable cocaine deal, Los Angeles bikers Billy and Wyatt set out across America, intent on reaching New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras. Stoned and seeking a freer way of life, they sleep out in the open, return a hitchhiker to a commune, and take square southerner George for a ride.

Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda raise dust across cowboy country in this pearl of a countercultural film, shot by László Kovács. Rock and stoner anthems drown out the rumble of Harley-Davidson choppers in this freewheeling classic, which kick-started the New Hollywood era—and Jack Nicholson’s career.