Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
★ 6.8 · 1997 · 83m · 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.
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Lions and Hyenas: Owners of Death, Guardians of Life
2019 · ★ 6.5
For many years lions and hyenas have competed hard for meat. Both control each other, stealing and killing each other. But in this game, both survive and no one prevails.Their destinies are united. This is the story of the ancestral confrontation between the most iconic predators of Africa
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Children of the Chinese Circus
2006
Documentary looking at Shanghai Circus school, where the gruelling training regimes result in some of the best acrobats and circus performers in the world. Children as young as eight have their unformed bodies stretched and tested to breaking point as they learn to master the most taxing feats of acrobatic grace and daring. Harsh demands are also made of teachers and parents as their proteges strive to be number one in the circus, the Chinese way. (Storyville)
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El circo
1950 · ★ 6.3
Madrid, Spain, 1949. The Circo Americano arrives in the city. While the big top is pitched in a vacant lot, the troupe parades through the grand avenues: the band, a witty impersonator, the Balodys, acrobats, jugglers, acrobatic skaters, clowns and… Buffallo Bill.
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Red Noses
2025
Beyond the lights and magic of the ring, this documentary follows the lives of the main stars of comedy: clowns.
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Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: Be a Clown
1987 · ★ 8
Instructors from the Ringling Bros. Circus Clown College demonstrate juggling instruction, clown acts, special make-up techniques, costume design, and more tips used by some of the world's most famous clowns.
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Malika the Lion Queen
2021 · ★ 5
Follows life of Malika, a lioness in South Africa’s Kruger National Park as she battles to survive.
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Circus Movements
2019
An examination of bodies, movement and the stillness of landscape brought to you by the entrancing Circus Debre Berhan.
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Chuy, The Wolf Man
2015 · ★ 7.4
Jesus 'Chuy' Aceves and a dozen living members of his extended family suffer from the very rare condition of congenital hypertrichosis, meaning they were born with excessive hair on their faces and bodies. Due to their appearance, they suffer from discrimination in all areas of their lives: the children are made fun of at school and abandoned by their 'non-hairy' parents, and the adults cannot find work unless they choose to exhibit themselves as freaks in circuses. This moving and visually arresting documentary is a portrait of Chuy and his family members. It examines their day-to-day lives and their struggle to find love, acceptance and employment.
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Tree Climbing Lions
2018 · ★ 6.9
In the heart of Uganda, there are lion prides that spend much of their lives in the trees – a rare and mysterious behavior seen in few other places in Africa – and little is known about why they do it. Big cat biologist Alexander Braczkowski sets out to study these lions, and his journey takes an unexpected, emotional turn.
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A Farra do Circo
2013 · ★ 9
This documentary highlights the evolution of Brazil's Circo Voador venue from homespun artists' performance space to national cultural institution.
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Back To Africa
2008
An Austrian director followed five successful African music and dance artists with his camera and followed their lives for a year. The artists, from villages in Ghana, Gambia and Congo, were the subjects of Africa! Africa! touring across Europe, but they have unbreakable roots to their homeland and their families. Schmiderer lovingly portrays his heroes, who tell their stories about themselves, their art and what it means to them to be African with captivating honesty. The interviews are interwoven with dance scenes and colourful vignettes set to authentic music.
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