Fast, Cheap & Out of Control

Oct 3 1997 PG 1h 20m
Documentary

Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals. There’s a lion tamer who shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener who has devoted 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.

Plot

What do an elderly topiary gardener, a retired lion tamer, a man fascinated by mole rats, and a cutting-edge robotics designer have in common? Both nothing and everything in this unconventional documentary directed by Erroll Morris. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Referring to the robot specialist's strange philosophy of robot design structure, not Erroll Morris's documentary techniques!) interplays, overlaps, and interrelates these four separate and highly specialized documentary subjects in order to in truth study all of humanity, raising questions about the future of mankind.

Written by

N/A

Directed by

Errol Morris

Cast

Dave Hoover, George Mendonça, Rodney Brooks

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

American Playhouse, Errol Morris Films, Fourth Floor Pictures

Languages

English

Awards

11 wins & 2 nominations

Featurettes
'Fast, Cheap and Out of Control' | Critics' Picks | The New York Times
Scores
# of Votes
4,089
Average Rating
7.1 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA