Sleepy Hollow (DVD)

== SLEEPY HOLLOW ==

=== 1999 ===

=== DVD REVIEW ===

Starring:Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Lee, Martin Landau, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gough, Ian McDiarmid, Casper Van Dien, Richard Griffiths, Marc Pickering
Special appearances by Christopher Lee and Christopher Walken

Director Tim Burton
Composer Danny Elfman ...
...century and the people around Sleepy Hollow, a small town in lower Westchester county, are in fear, fear for their lives -there's a menacing apparition patrolling the woods chopping off heads willy nilly and terrifying the local people.

Enter Ichabod Crane (Depp), a scientifically minded, squeamish, bookish fusspot constable dispatched from New York to investigate the brutal slayings.
Crane stays at the Van Tassel estate, ... more

SLEEPY HOLLOW

1999

DVD REVIEW

Starring:Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Christopher Lee, Martin Landau, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gough, Ian McDiarmid, Casper Van Dien, Richard Griffiths, Marc Pickering
Special appearances by Christopher Lee and Christopher Walken

Director Tim Burton
Composer Danny Elfman
Costume Designer Colleen Altwood
Director of Photography Emmanuel Lubezki
Editor Chris Lebenzon
Executive Producer Francis Ford Coppola
Producer Scott Rudin, Adam Schroeder
Production Designer Rick Heinrichs
Screenwriters Andrew Kevin Walker, Kevin Yagher
Source Writer Washington Irving

I think that we have every Johnny Depp film ever made - something to do with my daughter's obsession with him ( not just I may add for his acting skills), and we do actually enjoy watching his films.
We tend to enjoy the ones directed by Tim Burton the most.
'Sleepy Hollow' is, I think, one of my favourite in the Burton/Depp film genre. As it fast approaches Haloween how about getting a copy of this super creepy film to whet your appetite!!

It's 1799 - the eve of a new century and the people around Sleepy Hollow, a small town in lower Westchester county, are in fear, fear for their lives -there's a menacing apparition patrolling the woods chopping off heads willy nilly and terrifying the local people.

Enter Ichabod Crane (Depp), a scientifically minded, squeamish, bookish fusspot constable dispatched from New York to investigate the brutal slayings.
Crane stays at the Van Tassel estate, home of the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), her evil stepmother Lady Van Tassel (it is Miranda Richardson so she must be evil!!), and her oblivious father (Michael Gambon). Ichabod is, naturally, attracted to Katrina, who appears to dabble in sorcery, but he has a case to solve.
Being scientifically minded, he initially scoffs at the claim of the town elders that a Headless Hessian Horseman ( who seems to be mysteriously tied in to one of the town's most prominent families) is behind the reign of terror. " Ichabod is mildly amused that the people of Spooky Hollow are insistent that the killer is really a ghost. He is less amused to find out the killer steals the victim's head. But as Ichabod starts gathering forensic evidence, his suspicions grow that someone else might be controlling this satanic force for their own nefarious ends...

Tim Burton, in making this film, returned to the familiar territory that made him famous in the first place, serving up an audience-pleasing peace offering to the vast numbers of die-hard fans who were besotted with Pee-Wee, Batman and Edward Scissorhands, but who deserted him on his two previous films: the brilliant but ignored Ed Wood and the silly all-star folly Mars Attacks!

He had the makings of 'his genre' - creepy storyline, a choice misfit outsider role for Johnny Depp, gothic designs, dark, gothic people, a dark, gothic haunting score from the great Danny Elfman, a sense of displaced reality, and an opportunity to use lots of fog, not to mention black in every scene.
Oh yes Burton was back, big style.

I think that Burton's adaption of Washington Irving's eerie story is a solidly entertaining effort, with more brutality and gore than the original tale but less attention paid to the romantic entanglements of Crane and Katrina Van Tassel

The film is brimming with twisted and macabre touches, especially in the early sequences, with Burton creating a genuinely eerie mood of menace and horror as the Headless Horseman stalks the dank, gloomy roads and gnarled forests around Sleepy Hollow, decapitating his unfortunate victims before galloping back into the night on his black steed.

As heads bounce all over this little Hamlet Ichabod uncovers a few unsavoury secrets being concealed by the townspeople, Burton allows it all to slide into full-blown pantomime.
Fitting snugly into this camp vision is Johnny Depp. His Byronic portrayal of Ichabod Crane, the effected, forensically minded constable sent by mayor Christopher Lee (one of Burton's many nods to Hammer Horror) to solve the mystery, is hilarious.
There's a baroque back story involving Ichabod's mother (played by Burton's beautiful other half, Lisa Marie), but Ichabod is really just a pasty-faced wimp who faints at the drop of a hat, uses his 12-year-old assistant, Masbeth (Marc Pickering)--who has been orphaned as a result of the horseman's deed, as a human shield and burns up far too much energy rejecting supernatural explanations for the Horseman's rampage.

Depp plays the part well; he resists all temptation to turn Crane into a dashing hero. With an eccentric performance, an English accent, a hint of ironic humour at his character's expense, he splendidly captures the contradictions of his character, he is a man who does post-mortems on dead bodies for clues, yet faints at the sight of beheaded corpses and cowers at the sight of spiders.

Joining Depp is a caravan of Burton stalwarts and British character actors, including Jeffrey Jones, Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson and Ian McDiarmid, all working well and leaving the viewer wondering who the film's other nasty piece of work might be.
The Horseman's head-free silhouette can be spotted a mile off, but you won't over-tax your mental abilities working out which townsperson is concocting this evil brew. As for Ricci, as Katrina, I thought that she came across as less feisty and alluring than the potentially duplicitous damsel and the apple of Ichabod's eye could have been.

In conclusion I would say that Sleepy Hollow, despite a little messy finale, is close enough to classic Burton - lavish sets and costumes, a gothic Danny Elfman score, style and atmosphere to spare to indulge his fans and frighten a few new ones in the bargain.

THE DVD

Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Wide screen
Language English
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 15
Studio: Pathe Distribution
DVD Release Date: 24 Jul 2000
Run Time: 101 minutes

There are not many extras on the DVD. Tim Burton provides a full-length commentary track. He seems uncomfortable in the commentary; his comments often are only sketches, not filling in pertinent details. But, he has a lo of interesting things to say, and it des give an insights into his The best extra is a 30-minute featurette on the making of the film, created specially for the DVD. It is quite a thorough look at all aspects of the film, from the design to the shooting of the special effects work. WARNING Do not watch before watching the film as it is it's filled with spoilers.

Summary: A must for Halloween

 

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