I can recall the first time I saw this film.  Since I was only 6 years old in 1969 I didn't see it on it's original theatrical release.  I saw it on commercial television circa 1980 in the days before video stores and cable TV.  The movie was slotted in a two hour block and they started the film at the "Born to be Wild" opening credits segment.  When I saw it on video a few years later I was shocked that Fonda and Hopper made a drug deal prior to their trek to Mardi Gras.  There were other excisions, usually relating to drug use.  Why is this an important film?  Our heroes(?) aren't exactly noble individuals.  There is no real discernible plot.  The direction is haphazard at best(legend has it that director Dennis Hopper was probably stoned to the gills while making this film).  Well, this holds up as a picture of America at a time when social mores were changing.  The cinematography is beautiful.  Most impotantly, this film heralded the entrance of a new force in films, Jack Nicholson.  When Jack comes into the picture as the alcoholic ACLU lawyer the screen just lights up and maintains this aura in every scene he's in.  The scene where he smokes pot and explains the Venutian plot is classic.  The energy of this film deflates once he departs from the film.  I wonder though what relevance this picture has to a more youthful audience whose reference point to Jack is "The Joker".  To a younger audience Vietnam and the civil rights movement are things that may or may not have been taught in civics class.  I recommend watching this DVD (If you've seen it before) with Hopper's commentary on because it's a good one.  And the documentary on the disc isn't bad either.