When Big Wednesday begins, it’s 1962 and Leroy, Matt, and Jack are the best surfers out there. But in the twelve years that follow, life’s not always a beach: The pals experience love, loss, Vietnam, alcoholism -— you name it -- but never once stop to apply sunscreen. Back in the day, the level of sun damage sported by these three surfers would be dismissed as a savage tan, nothing more, which is why they ride this wave into tenth place.

Big Wednesday, Garey Busey, Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, 1978. © Warner Brothers. Courtesy of the Everett Collection.