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Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow

List Price: $12.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Renoir Of Blood And Witchcraft
Review: Tim Burton certainly has a knack for noire, and this is the best of his films yet, "Edward Scissorhands" following a very close second. He really knows how to set the tone before the story even begins, using gray palettes as his overlay to create a somber and foreboding gloom over landscapes and people. The art direction and cinematography in this film is amazing, not only for the creepy and ethereal scenery but coupled with interesting camera angles and long, focused shots on dream-like images.

This is a film for all ages, just as "Edward Scissorhands" is, and both films share the properties that make them great.

1)Johnny Depp. This man has an incredibly mobile and almost comedic face, his expressions endearing and farcical. Edward Scissorhands taught him a lot about putting forth without uttering a single word because he had very few lines. He relied more on his eyes than anything, and I have been impressed by his talent for improvisation ever since. Ed Wood only secured that position. He makes an impressive turn with his character here, playing the endearing, faint-hearted Constable Ichabod Crane. His constant episodes of passing out, turning up his nose at numerous corpses and consistent nervous stutters make him a very enjoyable presence on-screen.

2)Child-like fantasy. Ichabod's flashbacks about his mother include a sequence where she twirls into the air, milkweed tuft floating around like a summer snowfall. This is the beauty among the muck and blood in this film, and it captivates viewers young and old who share a fascination with magic and mystery. Burton may be a scholar in the area of gothic cinematics, but he has a special and unmatchable ability for uplifting and mystical moments in his films, a prime example in yet again "Edward Scissorhands", where Winona Ryder twirls happily in circles while snowflakes fall slowly around her, the choral music making the moment even more touching and serene.

3)The special effects. I have to admit, this was a lot more graphic than I expected, but it did the film justice. I loved all the blood and the head-severing. If this is going to be classified as a horror film, it has to have some of the winning traits that make it so. I am a horror fan, and I thoroughly enjoyed the disgusting cadavers and consistent decapitation. Burton doesn't have a history of graphic violence in his films, but it worked out well for him in this one, combined with the computer-animated Tree Of The Dead and restoration of the ghost's skull.

And if this isn't enough to get you to watch this film, then watch Edward Scissorhands first. That is a great starter film for anyone who wants to get acclimated in the Burton film genre. If that movie doesn't make you hungry to see this one, I don't know what will.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Horror Classic That Was Done Justice
Review: I've loved the story of the headless horseman since I first read the story as a little kid. I was hoping when the movie came out, it would be as good as the story I remembered. I wasn't disappointed. The movie is very good and I recommend it highly. For all of the kids out there that have never heard of the story of the headless horseman, watch this movie and I'll be willing to bet that you'll be captivated by the story also as so many others of us have been.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Looks Great - Hard to Follow
Review: A gorgeous film with many wonderful actors, Sleepy Hollow is hindered by a mediocre script and a bit too much scenery-chewing from Johnny Depp. Rent it for Halloween.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An Insta-Classic Horror Flick
Review: Sleepy Hollow was just an amazing film achievement for Tim Burton (the director), I am not saying Tim's a bad director, he is one of my favorite (if not the best). I loved the gothic sence of the forest, the village, the fact that it was never sunny and bright outside. Another thing to look for in the film, is a cameo from none other than Christopher Lee [The Mummy (the 1950's version) and , The Curse of Frankenstein] as the judge in New York in 1799. Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci both did superb acting jobs in the film. Overall a classic hammer (studios) film. If you have yet to see it, I recommend to rent it NOW!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A stylish, spooky film
Review: The year is 1799 and something is rotten in the small town of Sleepy Hollow in upstate New York; a ghostly night rider is on a rampage and heads are literally rolling all over the place. In hot pursuit comes Ichabod Crane, this time a bumbling constable from the big city instead of a bumbling school teacher, who suspects that the otherworldly happenings have a very worldly motive, and sets himself to root it out. This time around, the agent of death is no random killer; he's the pawn of an evil town citizen with a definite profit motive in mind. What makes this film really work is the terrific, spooky atmosphere, from the marvelous opening credits that swim eerily onto the screen and evanesce into ghostly nothingness, to the dark and gloomy environs of Sleepy Hollow itself, with its haunted forest and its crazily corkscrewed death tree, under which lie the heads of the victims of the Headless Horseman. Johnny Depp gives an excellent performance as Ichabod Crane, and Christina Ricci makes a winning Katrina Van Tassel. The special effects are impressive, to say the least; imagine a head spinning like a top on the neck from which it has just been sliced off before landing on the ground and rolling several yards before coming to a halt, with a look of horror frozen in perpetuity on its face. Tim Burton doesn't go for cheap thrills, though, and this is no slasher movie; it's an interesting, stylish and enjoyable retelling of a 200 year old ghost story.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A wonderful fantasy film
Review: Tim Burton does a marvellous job in re-creating the legendary tale of the Headless Horseman. Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent to Sleepy Hallow to find and capture the Horseman (wonderfully played by Christopher Walken). The special effects are great, the acting is superb and this is definately a film that will scare and make you laugh, all at the same time. One of the best of 1999.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This certainly makes up for Mars Attacks!
Review: Although I did like Mars Attacks, critically it was a failure. Well Tim Burton (one of my favorite directors) more than makes up for it with this incredible film. Loosely based on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this film not only has incredible effects and acting, but the twisted vision of the classic as only Burton could see it! Johnny Depp (one of my favorite actors) plays Crane, but as a constable and not a school teacher. Also gone is the traditional love story from the original book. However, Burton does explore the origins of the Headless Horesman, played wonderfully by the disturbed Christopher Walken. It all takes place in a dark, atmospheric landscape that I thought only able to exsist in Burtons animated films!Again, the always loyal to his friends director employs Depp (edward Scissor Hands,Ed Wood), Christopher Walken (Batman Returns)and a number of actors as the town elders who have appeared breifly in other Burton films. Usually, I like a director to branch out & use different actors, but when you have such a winning combination, in conjunction with one of my indie faves Christina Ricci, why tamper with perfection? Most professional critics overlooked Burton's deviation from the classic story because the resulting film was so good, and I beleive that you should, too. I did, and was thoroughly engrossed by the picture!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Must See!
Review: This is an excellent rendition of the classic early American folk tale. I wish all fiction could be brought to life with such style and attention to detail!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hugely Enjoyable Movie
Review: Let me say, I detest Johnny Depp.

I saw this film under sufferance.

BUT it is a great movie and (surprise!) engrossing entertainment. It is witty, scary, moody, mesmerising and fun. The story of the Headless Horseman is a classic and this film brings it to life in a manner no 1950s film ever could.

Even Johnny D manages to keep me absorbed! Buy it - you won't regret it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sleepy Hollow: Another Tim Burton Masterpiece
Review: After watching Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" on video I was overwhelmed by its power. That it won no major awards is a mystery, This film has everything going for it: great story, fastastic visuals and effects, great cast, and settings and atmospheres second to none I've seen well-in other Tim Burton films! Long ago I saw again and again the Disney version of this story and it had all the earmarks of Disney, toning down the violence, going more for humor and sweetness. After seing the visions that Burton conjures like some cinematic warlock, Disney's cartoon pales in almost every phase. Violence? Yes, but Burton's violence is stylized and not really that gory but it is scary, filling the screen with amazing images of twisted trees, fogs, distant, haunted vistas; the art direction and photography are magical and set the right tone for the story. Yes, after a bit, it seems too many heads have been lopped off and there is some confusion to who is still left to solve the mystery and battle the invinsible Headless Horseman. Funny thing about legends;this Headless Horseman character in the Disney version haunted and excited me as a child and Burton's Horseman, darkly malevolent, almost immortal, is one mean presence. Burton works many times with actors he's confortable with like Johnny Depp, excellent as Ichabod Crane, and and all-star suppoting cast, including Christine Ricci, Jeffery Jones, Michael Gabon, Michael Gogh (Burton's faithful butler Alfred in his two "Batman" movies) and cameos by Martin Landau (beheaded without having a line to utter), and Chistopher Lee, veteran of dozens of horror movies, a strong brief appearance and we hear that great booming voice of his. Burton had a similar cameo for Vincent Price. I can't praise enough the visual look of this movie. In its darkness, there is a beauty rare in any of this or any other year's films. Burton loves these gothic landscapes, and tales told by firelight and dark woods taking on a life of their own. This is a great film. Burton raely gets the praise he deserves; for some reason Hollywood just doesn't embrace his visions. Rarely does Burton repeat himself, risking his considerable powers on unusual prodjects like "Sleepy Hollow," a film that will eventually become a classic in its genre.Please, if you havn't seen it, run and rent it and if you are lucky to see it if it comes to your town on the big screen, see it again and just marvel at this dark and fantastic tale told in wild, beautiful,and stunning images.


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