On the Trail of Easy Rider: 40 Years On... Still Searching for America(2011)

On the Trail of Easy Rider: 40 Years On... Still Searching for America is a documentary that retraces the legendary 1969 film's cross-country motorcycle journey. Forty years after Easy Rider's release, filmmakers Simon Witter and Hannes Rossacher travel the same route with devoted fans Jim Leonard and Mike Kittrell, investigating how the film's themes—freedom, counterculture, and American identity—have evolved. Along the way, they interview musicians, academics, drug policy experts, and the original film's creators and cast members, exploring how Easy Rider revolutionized cinema through its unconventional approach to genre, music, cinematography, and casting. The series examines whether the ideals that defined a generation still resonate in contemporary America, or if the country has moved beyond the questions the cult classic posed.