Sleepy Hollow (1999)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Tim Burton

Writers (WGA):

Washington Irving (story)
Kevin Yagher (screen story) ...

Release Date:

19 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

Who will it come for next?!

Plot:

Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of 3 people with the culprit being the legendary apparition, the Headless Horseman.

Plot Keywords:

Horseman | Head | Headless | Headless Horseman | Murder

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 21 wins & 28 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 4	12:00 PM	TMC
Tue. July 7	10:00 PM	TMC
Thur. July 16	10:05 PM	TMC

Cast

Johnny Depp	...	Ichabod Crane
Christina Ricci	...	Katrina Van Tassel
Miranda Richardson	...	Lady Van Tassel / Crone
Michael Gambon	...	Baltus Van Tassel
Casper Van Dien	...	Brom Van Brunt
Jeffrey Jones	...	Reverend Steenwyck
Richard Griffiths	...	Magistrate Philipse
Ian McDiarmid	...	Doctor Lancaster
Michael Gough	...	Notary Hardenbrook
Christopher Walken	...	Hessian Horseman
Marc Pickering	...	Young Masbath
Lisa Marie	...	Lady Crane
Steven Waddington	...	Killian
Claire Skinner	...	Beth Killian
Christopher Lee	...	Burgomaster

Also Known As:

Sleepy Hollow (Germany)
Sleepy Hollow - Köpfe werden rollen (Germany) (TV title)
A Lenda do Cavaleiro Sem Cabeça (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Сонная лощина (Russia) [ru]
Az álmosvölgy legendája (Hungary) [hu]
Hayalet süvari (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Il mistero di Sleepy Hollow (Italy) [it]
La leyenda del jinete sin cabeza (Argentina) [es]
Päätön ratsumies (Finland) [fi]
Sanjiva dolina (Croatia) [hr]
Sleepy Hollow (Austria) [de]
Sleepy Hollow (Spain) [es]
Sleepy Hollow (Canada: French title) [fr]
Sleepy Hollow - La légende du cavalier sans tête (France) [fr]
Uspavana dolina (Serbia) [sr]

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Spain:13 | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KT | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:12 (original rating) (cut) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 (cut) | Hungary:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Hatfield House, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Tim Burton and the crew of the movie built the small town Sleepy Hollow complete with rooms, floors, and stairs. The town was dismantled after filming was completed.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Ichabod is investigating Jonathon's Masbath's death, he says to Phillips "and the head?" Phillipse replies "Taken" but in the gap preceding his answer you can see his lips uttering several other words but the sound has been removed

Quotes:

Lady Van Tassel: Dear stepdaughter... You look as if you've seen a ghost.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Tracey Fragments (2007)

Soundtrack:

The Swallow/The Colly Flower

Not perfect, but very, very close

First of all, the so-so parts: While Christina Ricci's cool portrayal of Katrina gives the character an appropriately otherworldly aura, she really could have used more fire at emotional moments. Some scenes are unduly rushed, including a few with crucial exposition, making the plot hard to follow at some points. Finally, Danny Elfman's music is too intrusive at times, distancing viewers when they should be drawn in.

That's ALL that's wrong with this picture; everything else is perfect or nearly so. Tim Burton's films are always visually rewarding, and this one has terrifically moody atmosphere. Having lived in hilly, wooded areas close to rivers and creeks, I can testify that there are indeed places that look and feel a lot like the Sleepy Hollow of this movie. Many scenes have so little color that they might almost as well be in black-and-white; this makes the few splashes of color (flames, witchcraft symbols, and of course blood) much more striking. One understands how the movie got an Oscar for art direction.

The plot, which as you probably know varies drastically from Washington Irving's original story, is diabolically complex and closer to a mystery/thriller than horror as such. It reminded me of the fiction of Avram Davidson, a noted fantasist with a penchant for complex mystery plots.

Anyway, back to the movie. Except for the rushed scenes alluded to above, Burton handles the plot (perhaps the most complex in any of his movies) with exceptional grace, dropping in telling visual details along the way that come back in unexpected places later on. I especially liked the underlying theme about science vs. superstition, and note that while many details of this particular case lie beyond the realm of science, it is still science and reason that crack the case open in the end. The bits of ca. 1800 cutting-edge (so to speak) technology were fascinating as well; my favorites were the magic lantern that threw lighted shapes on the walls, and the thaumatrope toy which combined pictures of a bird and a cage. (It's probably not a coincidence that both of these are ancestors to the motion picture.)

Finally, I loved Johnny Depp's performance as Ichabod Crane. Even though the character's situation and background were quite different from Irving's version, Depp, Burton, and scriptwriters Kevin Yagher and Andrew Kevin Walker remain true to the spirit of the original Ichabod Crane. He could almost be a Buster Keaton-type character, an awkward wimp who accomplishes great feats of derring-do by the end of the movie, and for me Depp's portrayal recalls "Sherlock, Jr.", in which Keaton dreams that he is the world's greatest detective. Even though Irving wrote no sequels to "Sleepy Hollow", I'd love to see more of this film version of Ichabod Crane; while the movie looks great and has a terrific script, it's Depp and Crane who put it over the top.