Current Movie Reviews

This was a very enjoyable telling of the classic tale that is very heavy on atmosphere. The DVD has several extra features that really add to its value beyond the straight movie too.

The look and feel of the film aregreat. We are taken back to the late 1790s to a very convincing SleepyHollow that has lots of fog and smoke, distant lightning, scaryjack-o-lanterns, and twisted trees. The movie has a great deal of suspensebuilt into it, and we are treated to lots of tense moments when thehorsemen is near, along with some fairly short, but sometimes very intensescenes of decapitation. The film is much more of a drama than a horror film– the plot is quite complex and usually laid out well.

For me, one ofthe best parts of the film was the Danny Elfman score — it was very rich,with lots of interesting effects built into — brooding strings, eeriechildren’s chorus, and tinkling bells. It added both suspense and humor tothe film.

The acting was good. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton work welltogether — Depp shows a nice range of emotions as the somewhat nervousIchabod Crane who was investigating the horseman’s murders. Christina Ricciplayed a very pretty but very mysterious young lady with links to thehorsemen. The whole cast was very good and tended to play a bit over thetop (this is Tim Burton after all).

A particular favorite for me wasChristopher Lee in a small but powerful role as a judge who sends constableCrane off to Sleepy Hollow.

The DVD has several very good features,including commentary by Tim Burton, a nice set of interviews with cast andcrew, and a good “Making of the Movie” feature that shows how alot of the special effects (including decapitation) were done.

A goodmovie on a DVD with lots of features!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Sleepy Hollow [HD DVD] (1999)