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Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow

List Price: $12.99
Your Price: $9.74
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The most fun movie ever made about serial decapitation.
Review: Visually stunning, deliciously creepy and loads of fun, Tim Burton and Andrew Kevin Walker's adaptation of "Sleepy Hollow" is a spooky treat. Squeamish detective Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a strange, gruesome series of murders. There, he must pit his scientific methods and cool rationalism against a foe who may not be of this earth.

Burton seems to be having the time of his life amid the gloomy, fog-shrouded forests of Sleepy Hollow; his trademark giddy weirdness is benefitted here by absolutely breathtaking cinematography and production design. Christina Ricci, usually a spirited actress, seems a little out of it as Katrina Von Tassel (perhaps her corset was too tight?) Johnny Depp delightfully plays against type as a sissy-boy hero who faints at spiders, backed up well by Marc Pickering as his plucky sidekick. The Horseman is also great fun as a villain. Headless, he's played by Ray Park with the same vicious swagger Park gave Darth Maul. Christopher Walken, playing the headed version, sports a white fright wig and teeth you've got to see to believe. Watch also for great cameos by the likes of Martin Landau and ex-Dracula Christopher Lee.

The action is spirited, the atmosphere creepy and absorbing. The graphic gore is mostly over-the-top silly, but is also treated with sensitivity and restraint when it needs to be. If you're looking for a fun action movie with atmosphere and eye candy to spare, "Sleepy Hollow" should be your destination.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: an Enchanting tale!
Review: Sleepy Hollow is another Tim Burton masterpiece! By far one of his best works yet! I went to see it seven times at the theatre and everytime i saw it..it was like my first. The film is absolutely stunning.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Elegant, Cinematic Masterpiece
Review: This film is beautiful. There is not much else that will best describe it. From the second the film starts you know it will be awesome. The mood is set withing a few minutes into the film, and it doesn't change. It is brilliantly made so that the viewer really does know the town of Sleepy Hollow. The main titles grab you by your neck and pull you in. They are absolutely beautiful.

The plot of the film can be very confusing, and the first time I saw it I thought the story didn't live up to the elegance of the film. Now, I've watched it several times and I can say that EVERY TIME it gets better for me, and the whole plot and everything that happens in the story becomes more clear. I have found myself liking it more and more, and I am appreciating the depth and confusion of the plot. You really have to understand it to love it.

The main focus of this film is not the story, however, but it is the absolutely stunning and beautiful visual rush it delivers. The drab and dreary setting for this film could be taken as ugly and boring, but it really is the key thing that makes this film what it is. The actual town was built for the film, and it is brilliantly constructed to form the film into a work of art. The other main set of the woods was built on a soundstage, but Tim Burton does a flawless job of creating it to be and outdoor world of magic and mystery.

The special effects in this film are so incredible that they seem like they aren't even there, save for a few scenes involving things coming out of people's heads. One thing I will point out for people like me who didn't notice. There is a scene in the witch's hut where her eyes come flying out and what looks like a toung. But, if you didn't see, it is really three snakes, one coming out of her mouth, and two holding her eyes in there mouths, sliding out of her eye sockets. I hated the scene the first time I saw it, but now I think it really adds to the film. The horsemen is so flawlessly crafted that you cannot even ever tell that his head was ever there. His collar was made inside the computer and it looks completely real.

I can't tell people enough that they have to see this film because it is a true form of what the art of film should be, and it is so elegant at times that you will almost be forced to love it.

This film is neither 'Sleepy' nor 'Hollow' as some reviews have stated. You just have to look INTO the film. Sleepy Hollow has everything a moviegoer could want: Hoards of action, comedy, drama, and suspense which really works. Johnny Depp's perfomance is brilliant as Ichabod Crane, the nutty detective from New York. He makes the film very funny at times, and he creates a VERY unlikely hero. Christina Ricci is spellbinding as the absolutely beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. She plays her roal wonderfully, creating a sense of mystery. This is by far her best performance that I've seen, and she makes this film even more beautiful. Christopher Walken's short role is great, and he truly creates a frightening horsemen.

The DVD is almost as great as the film itself. The picture quality on my player is the best I've seen so far, and the documentary and interviews add so much and I learned a lot from them. Tim Burton's commentary falls up short, while we mostly just watch the film with a few snippets of talking from him. But, the DVD is still great. Tim Burton's classic vission of this story is so wonderful in every way. The town itself will live inside you when you are watching this film, and you will want to experience it again and again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Probably my favorite horror movie of all time...
Review: ... but then again, as another reviewer pointed out, this isn't really a horror movie. It's a deep, atmospheric action/thriller/comedy that never stops entertaining. The playful nature of the film had me immediately hooked -- once "Sleepy Hollow" has you in its clutches, you'll be screaming for more beheadings! Mastermind Tim Burton stands at the helm of yet another excellent film (a surprise this is not), accompanied by the brillient Danny Elfman with, predictably, an eerie score that perfectly accents the goods. Add that to some seriously creepy (and no doubt expensive) set-design, elaborate costuming and dazzling special effects, and you've got yourself an instant classic. You want more? Johnny Depp makes a halarious Ichabod Crane, and Christina Ricci fits her role with perfection. And Maranda Richardson... oh, boy. She's quickly becoming my favorite actress; she and Christopher Walken were simply PERFECT for their respective roles, and were great together in the finale (heh heh). In short, "Sleepy Hollow" is a great action movie that doesn't take itself to seriously; the result is a brilliant, gory, atmospheric (Did I use that adjective once already? Sorry), thrill-ride-of-a-movie that will satisfy even the most twisted minds. A must-own video. Perfect for watching on Halloween.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Definately Not Hollow !
Review: Sleepy Hollow is a smooth spooky film. The range of characters in the film gave the film a different edge as the deaths that were happening all around the people were affecting them all in different ways. I liked the light humour that kept creeping up through the film, as this was unexpected by me. The acting was great at times but at others I got the feeling it was too melodramatic, with the constant faintings of Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) went over the top after the third time. Something I noticed, and I`m not sure if the film was supposed to do this, was that all tyhe people that watched it with me, myself included, started a kind of guessing game as to who was controlling the Headless Horseman, coming up with theories aswell. I thought that proved that we were all deeply imbedded in the plot of the film. Overall I thought the film was very well done and the decapitations and other death scenes were brilliant, so I would have to give Burton two thumbs up.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Attractive but boring
Review: I had high hopes... I love Tim Burton's work, but THIS one- despite the visual beauty, impressive special effects, and a campy Depp performance, fell by the wayside. I think it was the plot- too far fetched, too off the wall. I didn't buy it because of that.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: you must be hollow if you sleep through this one
Review: looks brilliant sounds superb,very good ensemble acting performances, particularly the faint(sic) Mr Crane! well worth a second watch, good extras on dvd

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Spooky, stylish film -- Excellent look and sound!
Review: 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 are great. We 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 we are treated to lots of tense moments when the horsemen 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 usually laid out well.

For me, one of the best parts of the film was the Danny Elfman score -- it was very rich, with lots of interesting effects built into -- brooding strings, eerie children's chorus, and tinkling bells. It added both suspense and humor to the film.

The acting was good. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton work well together -- Depp shows a nice range of emotions as the somewhat nervous Ichabod Crane who was investigating the horseman's murders. Christina Ricci played a very pretty but very mysterious young lady with links to the horsemen. The whole cast was very good and tended to play a bit over the top (this is Tim Burton after all).

A particular favorite for me was Christopher Lee in a small but powerful role as a judge who sends constable Crane off to Sleepy Hollow.

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

A good movie on a DVD with lots of features!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: eerie
Review: the little town of Sleepy Hollow is host to a phantom murderer who beheads his victims. Enter detective Ichabod Crane, who believes there is a rational explantion for the killings and is about to be proven wrong. This was a creepy but good movie

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Imaginative and beautiful, but lacking in story.
Review: I love the idea of the headless horseman, and this movie gives it a so-so treatment. The filming is beautifully gothic - and definitely Burtinesque, but is not as good as some of his others.

Maybe I'm stuck on the Disney cartoon version, but I would have rather seen a bumbling Ichabod than Johnny Depp's scientific policeman approach. He did OK, and so did Christina Ricci.

There is little violence (that you see on camera) but I still wouldn't show this movie to anyone under 7 years old...


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