... The residents of Sleepy Hollow are living in fear of a ghostly headless horseman, who has suddenly risen from the dead to cause havoc amidst the townspeople. On his enormous black steed, he appears from the misty cornfields, finds his human prey and slices its head from its body. Although ... Read review
Heads will roll Master storyteller Tim Burton (Batman Edward Scissorhands) weaves an ... more
eerie enchanting version of this classic tale of horror. Johnny Depp is Ichabod Crane an eccentric investigator determined to stop the murderous Headless Horseman....
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Heads will rollMaster storyteller Tim Burton (Batman, Edward Scissorhands) weaves an ... more
eerie, enchanting version of this classic tale of horror. Johnny Depp is Ichabod Crane, an eccentric investigator determined to stop the murderous Headless Horseman. Christina Ricci is Katrina Van Tassel, the beautiful and mysterious girl with secret ties to the supernatural terror...
JOHNNY DEEP (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean) stars as Ichabod ... more
Crane, a man who has to confront the legend of the axe-wielding headless horseman in order to win the heart of Katrina Van Tassel (CHRISTNA RICCI - The Adams FAmily, The Opposite of Sex).Set in 1799, Sleepy Hollow is based on Washington Irving's classic tale THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. Faithful to the dreamy custom-bound world that Irving paints in his story, the film mixes horror, fantasy and romance, and features an extraordinary cast of characters who dabble in the supernatural.
Every collaboration with director Tim Burton has produced something uniquely special from ... more
Danny Elfman. This is their joint homage to the horror films that inspired their youths. Apart from being the largest orchestra the composer has worked with, it's also his loudest score, on a positively operatic scale. The Headless Horseman is given a motif of Gothic enormity; its every appearance a speaker- testing swell of wry wickedness. Elfman's style by this point in his career has gone beyond the stand-alone set-pieces that characterised the likes of Batman or Edward Scissorhands. So the Horseman' s musical moments are worked into the fabric of the score in the same as Ichabod Crane's and a generic "shock" motif. "The Windmill" demonstrates the style's best, covering a sequence of flashback narrative. The music dips and peaks to the cuts between the spooky steed and some eerie exposition. Instead of thematic development en masse, Elfman aims for an integrated underscore that works beneath and above the action simultaneously. By the time of "The Chase" your senses will have been assaulted sufficiently to cope with your wide-eyed (eared?) first reaction to this densely orchestrated terrifying track. No homage was ever HAMMERed home so well. --Paul Tonks
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...is afoot. The residents of Sleepy Hollow are living in fear of a ghostly headless horseman, who has suddenly risen from the dead to cause havoc amidst the townspeople. On his enormous black steed, he appears from the misty cornfields, finds his human prey and slices its head from its body. Although three bodies have already been found, the heads have never been seen again.
In New York, a young police constable named Ichabold Crane ... ...Crane about the murders in Sleepy Hollow and assigns him to investigate. This time, it is Crane and his beliefs that are on trial.
Making his way out to the remote village, Crane finds himself in the midst of a very strange mystery. It transpires that the horseman was once a feared soldier, who could single-handedly despatch an entire troop of foes. In a final standoff against an invading army, the horseman was surrounded in remote ... more
It is 1799. In a quiet country backwater, something evil is afoot. The residents of Sleepy Hollow are living in fear of a ghostly headless horseman, who has suddenly risen from the dead to cause havoc amidst the townspeople. On his enormous black steed, he appears from the misty cornfields, finds his human prey and slices its head from its body. Although three bodies have already been found, the heads have never been seen again.
In New York, a young police constable named Ichabold Crane struggles to cope with the system, of which he is an integral part. All around him, he sees incompetence and injustice, but he is one very quiet voice in a very loud crowd, and his cries for things to be done “the right way” fall on deaf ears. Naturally inquisitive, if not a little eccentric, he fascinates himself with primitive forensic science, inventing his own gadgets and tools and generally courting mockery wherever he turns. After a particularly vocal outburst during a court case, the city’s judge finally loses his patience with Crane. In order to test his abilities (and secretly, hoping to rid the city of him once and for all) the judge tells Crane about the murders in Sleepy Hollow and assigns him to investigate. This time, it is Crane and his beliefs that are on trial.
Making his way out to the remote village, Crane finds himself in the midst of a very strange mystery. It transpires that the horseman was once a feared soldier, who could single-handedly despatch an entire troop of foes. In a final standoff against an invading army, the horseman was surrounded in remote woodland where he himself was finally decapitated and buried in a shallow grave. The townspeople now firmly believe that it is the horseman’s ghost who is responsible for the recent spate of murders and the entire town is in a state of emergency. The situation is, indeed, very strange, but as the death toll rises, the plot thickens considerably and Crane soon discovers that there is far more to the legend of Sleepy Hollow than he could possibly have imagined.
I love this film and always have. In 1999, I stumbled across it almost completely by chance, and since then, despite having watched it several times, I still find myself completely absorbed by the whole spectacle. Sleepy Hollow is simply unlike any other film I have ever seen. It combines humour with horror. It is visually captivating and features a cast of wonderful characters. It is exciting, frightening, funny and above all else it is very, very entertaining.
The story behind the movie runs something like an eighteenth-century Scooby Doo movie. Although there is barbarity and bloody violence behind the death of the townspeople, the characters are such a cacophony of stupidity, hysteria and cliché that it is generally rather difficult to be frightened by the whole thing. I’m quite sure this was the intention of the film’s director, Tim Burton and Sleepy Hollow is certainly not a conventional horror film. As my title suggests, Sleepy Hollow is really a very dark fairy tale. Imagine Snow White and The Seven Texas Chainsaw Massacres and you’re partway there.
In order to achieve this strange atmosphere, Burton employs a number of extremely effective techniques. His use of colour throughout the film is limited, but very pointed and he uses colour to draw your eye into the action. Whilst most of the picture is filmed through a misty, greyish filter, an occasional bouquet of flowers, or a vivid orange pumpkin stands out from the screen to remind you that you aren’t actually watching it in black and white. In this way, the smallest of things seem to stand out so much more – the green of a soldier’s waistcoat, the red of blood spattering against a pumpkin. It’s all quite subtle, but strangely atmospheric.
The next thing you’ll notice in this film is that, despite it’s eighteenth-century American setting, all the cast members are either British, or Americans putting on a British accent. It seems that Burton felt that a period ghost story simply couldn’t work if it was populated by drawling Americans, and he was probably right. The sheer “Englishness” of the cast helps only to add to the overall dark mood – all bad guys are English, after all, right?
And then we come to Sleepy Hollow itself. A small mediaeval township populated by black-toothed peasants, and buxom maidens scurrying around the poorly lit streets before the horseman turns up. Nestled in a hollow (of course) the location provides just about every possible gothic horror setting you could imagine. Dark, eerie woods, filled with gnarled, hooked trees that look like they are waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting visitor. Huge, sprawling cornfields, broken only by an occasional pumpkin-headed scarecrow, whose flickering, flame-filled eyes seem to mock and leer at you as you wander past. A huge old mansion on a hill, with an approach road marked only by flickering torchlight and rows of candle-filled pumpkins. The setting is simply wonderful, and whether it was purpose-built, computer-generated or really existed, you simply won’t care because Burton has sprinkled the thing with enough of his dark magic to draw you in completely. The special effects are excellent too – you really will believe that a headless horseman rides through the woods and the decapitations are probably amongst the most realistic you will see in such a film.
The story itself is also rather good. The setting means that the director is able to pump the thing full of superstition in a way that a modern film simply wouldn’t have permitted. Crane’s initial task appears to be that he must persuade the townsfolk that there is a logical explanation for all that is happening, but when he finally sees the headless horseman for himself, he is just as frightened as the people he has been sent to protect. The key thing about Sleepy Hollow is that there is a genuine air of mystery about the whole story and as you become absorbed in the events, each twist and turn is a genuine surprise. Is the horseman real and if so, what is he up to? Why do some of the townsfolk seem to know more than they are letting on? What is the secret of the West Wood and who is the old crone who lives in a cave? All these questions (and more) are asked and ingeniously answered.
Sleepy Hollow is also home to an enormously varied and celebrated cast, with a whole host of famous names, both British and American. As Ichabold Crane, Johnny Depp is surprisingly effective. Although he has a semi-scientific interest in everything going on around him, his rather camp mannerisms and eccentric nature often make him rather amusing, but you can’t help feeling affectionate towards him too. Despite his slightly odd British accent, Sleepy Hollow is probably Depp’s best film to date, as far as I’m concerned. Crane’s romantic interest is the local dignitary’s daughter, Katrina, played by Christina Ricci. Ricci is absolutely perfect in the part because she seems strangely authentic to the period. Her slightly unconventional, yet natural beauty is definitely at home in the rural setting and she looks and acts the part. Also popping up we have Miranda Richardson as Katrina’s mother, Lady Mary – deliciously wicked to the core; Christopher Lee as the imposing court judge; Richard Griffiths as the obese and deceitful magistrate; Michael Gambon as Lord Baltus and Casper Van Dien as the handsome young prince. Lastly, but by no means leastly, mention must go to Christopher Walken’s horseman – he’s not nice at all! Unlike just about any other film I can think of, I simply can’t think of a single character in this film that I didn’t like – testament to a truly enjoyable movie, as far as I’m concerned.
At around one hour and forty minutes long, Sleepy Hollow is just the right duration. It’s long enough to be intriguing but not so long that you get bored. I also think this film has hugely universal appeal. Despite its horror tag, it is never gratuitous and I think that it’s put together in such a way that I’d be comfortable for kids to see it (despite its 15 certificate). As a rule, I find that I like anything “touched by the hand” of Tim Burton and Sleepy Hollow is close to a masterpiece.
Curl up on a cold Halloween and simply enjoy the spectacle of the whole thing.
Advantages: excellent cast and production Disadvantages: slow at first, and hard to follow
...give the story away..sorry!!
Sleepy Hollow was premiered on Sky several weeks back and being an ardent Johnny Depp fan it was a must for me.
Depp portrays Ichabod Crane, and is joined by Christina Ricci as Katrina, Miranda Richardson as Lady Von Tassel, and the films resident ghoul Christopher Walken as The Hessian horseman as he is better known.
The film was produced by Scott Rudin and directed by Tim Burton, a lavish and decadent gothic production.
... ...how does the modern day Sleepy Hollow compare to its predecessors?
Depps role as Ichabod Crane is rather different, previously a trembling wreck of a teacher, Crane is now a New York Constable, a man with an amazing flair for scientific and forensic evidence, a man way ahead of his time, he is wasted in New York dealing with every day crimes and murders.
At first you think Depp (Ichabod) is a very sombre almost emotionless character, his face almost ...
Broksababie 13.08.2001 (15.08.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepy Hollow (DVD)
Advantages: Its different - I've never seen a film about a headless horseman before. Disadvantages: Not really scary, gory and it certainly doesn't make you jump.
...this film. The name Sleepy Hollow seems to conjure up images of a little house on top of a hill. I assumed I’d seen this on the trailers when it first came out, I guess I was wrong though because their aren’t any little houses on a hill in this film really! I got it completely wrong really. So, in case you’re like me and have the wrong idea about this film I’ll start with the obvious….
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... ...I was so convinced that Sleepy Hollow was about a haunted house on a hill that, when it started, I went downstairs to check the newspaper to make sure I was watching the right film! It really wasn’t what I was expecting. Firstly it was set in 1799 and secondly there didn’t seem to be many ghosts!
I must warn you, this film is a real slow started. You don’t actually get into the story for at least 30 minutes. I actually got quite ...
Sarah_Louise 06.12.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepy Hollow (DVD)
Advantages: what-ho!, what are these :op Disadvantages: I'm awful at this type of writing really :op
...of the fair town of Sleepy Hollow, well why have I called you over here today I hear you ask? for I have a tale to tell that shall enliven the hearts of each and every citizen of this country I call home! It all started a little while ago when one of the many townsfolk came running into town screaming about a headless horseman riding the night, well of course he was just one of the lowly peasants that seem to be infesting this town at the moment ... ...this motion picture and that Sleepy Hollow never existed, in fact they say that we are all characters in a novel by some fellow called Washington Irving which was adapted by a young man called Tim Burton who has previously worked on such movies as Beetlejuice and A Nightmare before Christmas, now whats this they say, Dear Lord this can't be true! Apparently the music that was being played whilst these events happened wasn't an act of god! Why it ...
Angelus 14.11.2001 (16.11.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepy Hollow (DVD)
Advantages: Depp, Burton, Richardson, Walken Disadvantages: Lacking in substance
...to the small village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate some mysterious deaths there.
He quickly finds that all the inhabitants of the village are convinced that the deaths are the work of a ghostly headless horseman who rides on the night and beheads his victims. He was formerly a fearsome soldier with sawn off teeth (played by Walkden) as a wild eyed and particularly gruesome piece of work. Crane has his own dark childhood secrets haunting him which ... ...the village, but does not prevent him falling helplessly in love with Chriistina Ricci (here looking extremely odd as a blonde/ginger creature with no eyebrows).
No more clues now….
Okay, now is it actually any good?
Well, it’s certainly sumptuous, with some excellent and very evocative scenery, great scary ensemble playing, lurid special effects and some genuinely gripping moments, but you could say that about just about anything ...
dave27 31.07.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepy Hollow (DVD)
Advantages: Special effects, Burton's Dark pantomine style Disadvantages: Ricci and Depp to not gel
...the New England town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of brutal murders by beheading. Crane, played by Johnny Depp, is an advocate of 'new technology' and comes to the town with a firm belief in the wonders of science and rationality so he dismisses the stories of locals that the murderer is the Headless Horseman, the ghost of a Hessian mercenary killed in years gone by. It is interesting to see what accounted for technology in the investigation ... ...well as Crane's own instrumental inventions. Depp's portrayal of this awkward, frequently cowardly and often clumsy character is superb and highly convincing and at times comical. Soon he comes to learn there is more to the story than science can explain and the heightened emotion of the situation awakens memories of his own, disturbed childhood. When it is apparent that the Headless Horseman is returning to reek a bloody revenge the question is ...
BizzyBek 22.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sleepy Hollow (DVD)
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Reviews which might be of interest for "Sleepy Hollow (DVD)"
Advantages: Johnny Depp!! Oh and a great creepy film Disadvantages: Ending is a little messy
SLEEPYHOLLOW
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 ...
Advantages: A great atmospheric film with a believeable gothic feel and believable acting Disadvantages: Can be gory and gruesome in places so not for the squeamish!
The Film
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The film was written by Andrew Kevin Walker and is based on the fairy tale of 'The Legend of SleepyHollow' by Washington Irving. Filming took place in London, although some parts were filmed in New York, close to the actual town of SleepyHollow. My initial thoughts of a fairly tale with the words? 'Sleepy', 'Hollow' couldn't have been further from the truth?this is definitely a film not to be missed!
The DVD
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The DVD was released in July 2000 with a certification of 15. The DVD is in 5:1 format (Dolby Surround Sound) which makes the viewing experience more enjoyable. The sounds of the galloping horse or eerie noises from behind add to the overall feel and atmosphere. The DVD is also in widescreen format, which goes well with our TV which for us is good but on a standard TV can look a little ...
Advantages: Very atmospheric, refreshingly uncompromising gore Disadvantages: Rather weak plot
SLEEPYHOLLOW
Director Tim Burton certainly doesn’t attempt a radical rebirth with this release. Starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, it’s a distinctly tongue-in-cheek gothic horror, which amounts to fairly average conclusions.
The plot is typically generic. Man (in this case Depp as Constable Ichabod Crane) leaves civilisation and heads to eerily named village in the middle of nowhere, where he becomes embroiled in all sorts of supernatural trouble. And of course, a clever tagline which relates not only to the comedic value of the film, but literally to what you will see in it (‘Heads Will Roll!). Sounds like pretty entertaining stuff then? Well, sort of.
There is certainly an excellent atmosphere to the film, mainly created through the use of far-out locations and the weather’s tendency to always ...
A policeman investigates a series of murders in the village of Sleepy Hollow in the 1700s. The victims' bodies have been found without their heads. Legend has it that a headless horseman who roams the woods is responsible...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
PATHE DISTRIBUTION; 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
2 Original Theatrical Trailers, Behind The Legend, Reflections On Sleepy Hollow, Directors Commentary, Photo Gallery, Biographies, Interactive Moving Menus
Aspect Ratio
1.85 Wide Screen, 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...Fine cast..." -- 3 out of 5 stars (Premiere, p.100, 01/06/2000)
"...SLEEPY HOLLOW is gorgeous filmmaking that brims over with funhouse thrills and ravishing romance..." (Rolling Stone, p.89-90, 09/12/1999)
"...As beautifully crafted a film as anyone could ever hope to see..." (Variety, p.87, 15/11/1999)
DVD Description
In Tim Burton's stylish, creepy retelling of the classic Washington Irving story, SLEEPY HOLLOW, Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is a squeamish, bookish 18th century New York City investigator sent to a small town in lower Westchester county to look into three mysterious decapitations. When the always rational Crane arrives at the little Dutch village, he finds that most of the townsfolk believe the culprit to be the Headless Horseman, the ghost of a monstrous Hessian soldier (Christopher Walken), who seems to be mysteriously tied in to one of the town's most prominent families. Burton's natural instincts for campy humor, combined with the hauntingly gorgeous technical work (Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography and Danny Elfman's score included), collide to create a work of exhilarating entertainment and poetic storytelling. Miranda Richardson, Casper Van Dien and Christina Ricci help make up an ensemble cast that, combined with the historically accurate village sets and dreamlike magic of the haunted Western Woods--created on the largest sound stage in film history--makes SLEEPY HOLLOW a visually stunning, gripping, and, at times, chilling film.
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