Fast, Cheap & Out of Control

1997 1h 23m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 48🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes★7.1IMDB · 3,990

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Errol Morris interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals: a lion tamer shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener devotes a lifetime to shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; a man fascinated with hairless mole rats; and an MIT scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Dave Hoover
Himself (Wild Animal Trainer)
George Mendonça
Himself (Topiary Gardener)
Raymond A. Mendez
Himself (Mole-Rat Specialist) (as Ray Mendez)
Rodney Brooks
Himself - Robot Scientist

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Errol Morris
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Errol Morris, shot by Robert Richardson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Shondra Merrill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dave Hoover and George Mendonça and Raymond A. Mendez carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0119107 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Errol Morris directs. Robert Richardson behind the camera. Shondra Merrill cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Errol Morris, shot by Robert Richardson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Shondra Merrill shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Dave Hoover and George Mendonça and Raymond A. Mendez carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0119107 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 48 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.