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Sleepy Hollow
1999
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 .. Read more
| Starring | Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon, Ian McDiarmid |
|---|---|
| Director | Tim Burton |
| Genres | Horror, Thriller |
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Sleepy Hollow
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.
| Starring | Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Michael Gambon, Ian McDiarmid, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Gough, Marc Pickering, Richard Griffiths, Martin Landau, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Walken, Christ |
|---|---|
| Director | Tim Burton |
| Studio | PATHE DISTRIBUTION |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 41 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 45 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Horror, Thriller |
| Language | English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | None |
| Released | DVD: 24 Jul 2000 Blu-ray: 21 Sep 2009 Production year: 1999 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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This supernatural gothic whodunnit is another beautifully crafted offering from eccentric maestro Tim Burton. With a perfect cast milking every sinister nuance, Burton's clever take on Washington Irving's timeless tale of terror uses the classic look of Hammer's golden horror era to stunning effect. Johnny Depp, sporting a clipped English accent, is brilliant as maverick police constable Ichabod Crane, sent to the small New England community of Sleepy Hollow to investigate three mysterious beheadings, which the locals are blaming on the ghost of the legendary Headless Horseman. Cruel shocks and subversive thrills combine with sly humour in a stunning movie that's steeped in Burton's Grimm fairy-tale sensibilities and unrestrained love of the fantasy genre.
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This is yet another 'B' movie with pretensions, a big-budget Hammer-styled horror. It succeeds only on the level of design and atmosphere; the narrative creaks, and the performances tend to eccentricity for no good purpose.
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Most helpful member's review
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52 out of 55 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
superb
this film is superb. we are massive Johnny Depp fans, and love every film that he is in.
The look and feel of the film are great. You are taken back to the late 1790s, to a very convincing Sleepy Hollow, that has lots of fog and smoke, distant lightning, scary jack-o-lanterns, and twisted trees.
The movie has a great deal of suspense built into it, and you are treated to lots of tense moments, when the horseman is near, along with some fairly short, but sometimes very intense scenes of decapitation. The film is much more of a drama than a horror film -- the plot is quite complex, and carries itself well.
Johnny Depp shows an incredible depth to his acting skills, portraying a nice range of emotions, as the somewhat nervous and bumbling, Ichabod Crane who investigates the horseman's murders.
he holds a tremendous faith in science over mysticism, and he comes up against town secrets, bewitching women, and a number of bodies missing heads, in the course of his investigation.
Christina Ricci plays Katrina Van Tassel, the offbeat love interest, who alternately charms and frightens Ichabod Crane.
A particular favourite for me, was Christopher Lee in a small but powerful role, as a judge who sends constable Crane off to Sleepy Hollow.
this film is visually stunning, Sleepy Hollow has some elements from the horror genre. A demonic villain that terrorizes a town. But it is also a gothic adventure, with a pale hero running through skeletal trees, to rescue his damsel in distress. The fun part, is that the hero is in more danger than the damsel, this is one of the great twists in this film.
As Ichabod Crane, Johnny Depp is an exquisite mix of neurosis, extravagances, manias and quirkiness. He's the antithesis of the classical hero, a coward with a brilliant mind, but with no experience in how to defeat an evil ghost. He is very funny, but not in a clowning sort of way.
If you want to see an exciting and visually stunning film, then watch this movie. -
Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Old-fashioned horror
Reasonably good old-fashioned horror/costume drama, a bit of gore, storyline not too bad, worth a watch.
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News and features
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Halloween T(h)reats
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With Saw V and Midnight Meat Train both currently thrilling cinema goers across the country, we started reminiscing about the best horror movie taglines ever. A tagline, as you probably know, is the one-liner that appears on an ad, a poster or a commercial that sums up the appeal of a movie. Once upon a time yours truly was involved in a film society and we dabbled in this art ourselves. I recall coming up with a tagline for James Whale’s black and white classic Bride of Frankenstein ( Read more
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Sleepy Hollow - BLU-RAY Version
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 ...
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Sleepy Hollow
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 ...
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