Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful on every level
Review: Tim Burton is just the man to bring Washington Irving's macabre little tale to the screen, and his gothic touch is deftly applied. He treats the material playfully but without losing any of the darkness that makes it so compelling. The result is movie with the perfect balance of horror and humour, leaving just enough space for the familial feud at the centre of Andrew Kevin Walker's tidy screenplay to see the light of day. The largely English cast is a joy to behold even in minor roles, as are the wonderful action sequences, subtle special effects, and stupendous art direction which more than deserved the Oscar it eventually won. But holding it all together is the performance of Johnny Depp as the nervous, eccentric Ichabod Crane. Depp shows, yet again, that he's one of the most under-rated and under-awarded actor in Hollywood. His versatility is astounding.
Rating:
Summary: Horribly funny
Review: This film is full of beutiful detail, from a twisted gothic horror village and demonic faces in the fire. It's creepy, horrible and funny, Depp portrays a clever, if wet, hero, with Ricci's lovely, if mildy irritating heroin. A star lost however, as some of the 'bodies' getting hefted about can look a little unrealistic. Don't watch before walking in dark isolated woods.
Rating: 
Summary: No sense of fun
Review: I had great expecatations of this film, based on Burton's reputation and some of the glowing reviews I'd read here. But this was a grim tale. In spite of Burton's wonderful visual imagination, I found little to enjoy.I think I must agree with the reviewer from Los Angeles who wrote that Burton has trouble picking good scripts. That, along with trouble getting the best from his actors, must be the problem. He had wonderful talent in Depp and Ricci, but he didn't seem to know what to do with it. Depp was a particular disappointment. It was as though he wasn't given enough to work with. However, whoever cast the child Ichabod did an amazing job. You can imagine a child Johnny Depp looking like him. Two technical points: I though Burton made a big mistake showing us the face of the Headless Horseman (Christopher Walken) right away. This removes suspense and mystery from the story. Also, the part about the baby was truly distasteful. Seeing the slit in the widow's stomach is quite enough to tell the viewer what they need to know. Carrying it further is pointless. As a woman viewer I was really put off.
Rating: 
Summary: The man who destroyed Batman also ruins a good book.
Review: This movie was about as far removed from the book as you can make it, with a corny love story, bad screenplay, and waste of good actors. It might do Danny Elfman some good if he not score any more music for Burton's films.
Rating: 
Summary: Horror raised to the level of an art form
Review: This is the most magnificent horror movie I have ever seen and one of favorite movies of all time. One of the main motivations for my buying a DVD player a couple of years ago was the desire to own Sleepy Hollow in the ultimate format. Normally I have nothing but disdain for a film that completely rewrites a classic tale such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but I have no complaints at all about this masterpiece. The movie does take so many liberties with the original that Washington Irving might have a hard time recognizing it, though. Ichabod Crane is not a mild-mannered schoolteacher but is instead an enterprising New York City constable whose determination to use scientific method in his work earns him the unpalatable assignment of investigating a series of beheadings in the hamlet of Sleep Hollow. He regards the tale told by the town elders about a headless horseman as nonsense-until he sees the horseman at work with his own two eyes. His timid nature rather obviously revealed, he nevertheless steadfastly continues his investigation of the matter, concentrating on a conspiracy linking the different murders. The increasingly supernatural aspects of the story do nothing to take away from a spectacular ending. Sleepy Hollow boasts a spectacular cast and a stellar crew of filmmakers. Tim Burton, with a little help from Francis Ford Coppola, has created a work of art. The settings are incredible and truly evocative of a farming community of the late 18th century. The dark and moody atmosphere of Sleepy Hollow makes the very town an important character in and of itself. When we view the scenes of Crane's childhood memories, full of vibrant color seemingly leaping off the screen, the contrast between the two atmospheres is incredible. No actor is more at home in a Gothic setting than Johnny Depp, and he truly shines in Sleepy Hollow, giving Crane a depth of character that is crucial to the film's success. He has to conquer his own fears, subdue the memories of his childhood, and deal with the conflicting emotions he has toward Katrina van Tassel in order to bring the beheadings to an end. Christina Ricci is utterly charming and enchantingly beautiful as Katrina; I could watch this movie endlessly just to see her performance. Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gambon, and Michael Gough bring great talent to the film as the town leaders, and Martin Landau contributes another distinguished head to the proceedings. Then there is Christopher Walken, who was the perfect choice to play the role of the Hessian soldier/Headless Horseman-he has no lines, but his presence broods over the whole film. There are some tender and comical moments in the film, but one is frequently reminded of the horror aspect by the continuing series of beheadings. I lost count of just how many there were. I must say that these are some of the best, most impressive beheadings I have been witness to. Burton even adds special touches such as one scene in which the head spins around quickly before leaving the shoulders of its suddenly former body. The representation of the headless horseman is also quite exceptional and disturbingly realistic. There is not an excessive amount of blood in the film, but those who find the sight of headless bodies disquieting will have much to squirm and squeal about. The plot holds together very well, each subtle clue or incident ultimately falling into place; there is no extraneous material added to pad the film or slow it down in any way. The music complements every bit of the action very well, and the beautifully realistic mood that only Tim Burton could have created is guaranteed to draw you completely into the story. I really cannot praise this movie enough; it is horror crafted into an art form by the deft hands of Tim Burton.
Rating:
Summary: Did you love the animated Disney version? Then see this!
Review: Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow is in no way a simple live-action interpretation of the Disney version of Washington Irving's classic Halloween tale, but if you are a fan of that second half of Disney's the Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, you will definitely notice the similarities! There's no doubt that Christina Ricci's Katrina Van Tassel is nearly every bit as delicious looking as the Disney version, and so many of the visuals, such as the covered bridge scenes, will take you right back to that classic cartoon. You'll even hear the frogs croaking Ichabod's name as he rides across the bridge on his worn out old plow horse. But there are many differences in this new, moody version of the tale too.
This time, Ichabod Crane comes to us not as a school teacher, but as a police detective from New York at the end of the 18th century, sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the recent rash of grisly murders taking place there. His only clues are a graveyard of headless bodies and a story circulating throughout the village about a headless horseman come back from the grave for revenge. The horseman was a Hessian mercenary from the Revolutionary War, with teeth filed to points and a lust for blood, whose head was cut off upon his capture. The very hearing of the tale sends a chill through Ichabod, an easily frightened man who hides behind a mask of skepticism. Acquiring lodging with the prominent Van Tassel family, Ichabod takes on a young assistant named Masbath, a boy orphaned by the horseman. With the help of Young Masbath and Katrina Van Tassel, the Van Tassel's beautiful daughter, Ichabod attempts to discover the source of the trouble in Sleepy Hollow. But in this strange little village, everyone makes a good suspect.
Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow plays very much like a spooky, supernatural version of Sherlock Holmes. In fact, an entire franchise of Scooby-Doo type mystery movies could have been built on this film, with sequel after sequel of Crane, Masbath, and Katrina solving mystery after mystery. I would have seen them all anyway! But what we have here is one great new rendition of the classic tale, with all the atmosphere and mood one expects from Tim Burton. I'd have to label this as Burton's best work yet, possibly the best he'll ever do, as it will be very hard to top. The casting in this film is excellent by the way! Johnny Depp is a surprisingly good Ichabod, Christina Ricci is perfect as Katrina, Casper Van Dien is an equally excellent choice as Brom, Marc Pickering was very likeable as Young Masbath, and the film is full of other wonderful actors such as Christopher Lee, Martin Landau, Jeffrey Jones, and none other than Christopher Walken as the headless horseman! The DVD is wonderful too, with interviews, commentary, behind the scenes, and other goodies. There's a fair share of violence and even some gore, probably too much for little kids, but overall this is not really a scary film, just a really great, creepy, beautiful supernatural action/mystery for the Halloween season, or anytime you're in a Halloween mood! A must own for lovers of great films and visual masterpieces!
Rating:
Summary: It was all over after "Scissorhands."
Review: Tim Burton is a master of visual storytelling who, in HIS OWN WORDS (from an episode of the IFC TV series "The Directors"), couldn't tell a good script from a bad script if it fell on him (I'm paraphrasing here, but the message was the same). However, early in his career, he was partners with producer Denise DiNovi, who COULD spot good material. As a result, he made the stunning, quality motion pictures "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure," "Beetlejuice," "Batman," "Edward Scissorhands," and "Batman Returns." Then, after a falling out, DiNovi split and he made the visually stunning, awful films "Ed Wood" (yeah, I know many people will disagree with that but, personally I though it was pretty crummy apart from Martin Landau and Johnny Depp's performances... maybe one could call that title "okay" to "pretty good"), "Mars Attacks," "Planet of the Apes," and this waste of time. I won't even include "Nightmare Before Christmas" because that was a Henry Selick film which Burton was not even involved with during production (even though Burton gets all the credit for it). What a waste of talent. He needs to find someone to fill DiNovi's shoes because all of these films' paper-thin scripts sink his still-impressive visuals. Great to look at but empty.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for the Halloween season!
Review: Tim Burton's version of Washington Irving's book THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW, is a masterpiece for the Halloween season. The casting is excellent: Johnny Depp as the nervous and sensitive Ichabod Crane, and Christina Ricci as the mysterious Katrina Van Tassel. This really is the natural progression from her role as Wednesday in THE ADDAMS FAMILY and ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES. However, Christina Ricci in SLEEPY HOLLOW is far more human than Wednesday, and far far more sexy. Though the air of fright still lingers. SLEEPY HOLLOW is one of my all-time favorite movies, and is perfect for the Halloween season. But it gets a little too gory for me in some scenes, and therefore I would not recommend SLEEPY HALLOW for an audience younger than six, or maybe all the way up to eight or ten (though there is so much violence on TV these days that kids may already be used to it by that age). Overall, the main thing that is stunning about SLEEPY HALLOW is the art direction. This really takes you to another era.
Rating:
Summary: will raise the goosebumps
Review: "Sleepy Hollow," loosely based on the Washington Irving tale of the headless horseman, maintains an eerie atmosphere from beginning to end. Set in a rural village in colonial New England, this tale of suspense and Halloween-type horror will nail you to your seat. Johnny Depp is surprisingly good as the earnest young Ichabod Crane, summoned from New York City to investigate the bizarre happenings in the village. Christina Ricci's nuanced performance as his romantic interest is well performed. The dreamy, greyish lighting and the haunting music contribute to the constant spooky feeling this movie conveys. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: very creepy
Review: did not think this would be my type of movie...boy was i wrong. excellent directing by the ever creepy tim burton. johnny depp is magnificent as is christina ricci. christopher walken makes the perfect headless horseman......great great great movie an absolute must see. especially for those who are expecting it to be just another movie about ichabod crane and the headless horseman like i was....you will be pleasantly surprised.
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