Underrated Magical Fantasy (Sleepy Hollow (DVD))

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Sleepy Hollow (DVD)
Date:	26/03/04 (168 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent actors, sets, plot and soundtrack

Disadvantages: Some scenes are less memorable

As actress Christina Ricci explains on the DVD's special features, Washington Irving's 'the Legend of Sleepy Hollow' is one of America's few fairy tales and concerns the plight of a village falling victim to a Headless Horseman. The Horseman in the film is played by Christopher Walken, veteran of a number of films including Burton's previous works, while his good 'adversary' is played excellently by Johnny Depp; a true Tim Burton film veteran who played the title role in Edward Scissorhands. Christina Ricci, an actress who will hopefully escape one day from the 'Wednesday from the Addams Family movies' label, plays the young and innocent spellbook-dabbler Katrina Van Tassel, Miranda 'Queenie from Blackadder' Richardson plays her evil stepmother and a load of talented old men play old men. The music is all composed by Danny Elfman, a name which I cannot helo but link completely with that of Tim Burton as he has been responsible for the powerful, classical themes of all the Tim Burton films I've seen; even "Mars Attacks!" from 1997.

Tim Burton's films have a reputation for featuring bizarre sets and creating a balance between truly good and evil characters. The director responsible for such films as Beetlejuice, the Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman always produces films which I find interesting to watch, even if the plot is not to my liking. With Sleepy Hollow however, the plot, characters and filming style all combine to produce a fantastic film which could be described, if films could be described as magical, as magical.

The film's plot is that Depp's Ichabod Crane, an innovative and scientific New York consta
ble at the end of the eighteenth century with a really great name, is sent to the town of Sleepy Hollow by Christopher Lee to investigate murders in which the victims' heads were severed clean from their bodies. Upon arriving at the town, Ichabod soon discovers that the inhabitants all firmly believe in the legend of the Headless Horseman who will come to kill one person every night until he has enough heads for his sinister purposes. Following more deaths, Ichabod enlists the help of an eager young apprentice Masbeth, whose parents were killed by the Horsemen and who is impressed by Ichabod's devices, but their investigations soon start to link to one of the village's most noteable families. And is the horseman real...? Well, after a relatively short investigation it obviously turns out that he is!

Tim Burton is a classic modern director, and if like me you're not trained in the subtleties of directing then you can appreciate the film even more after having listened to the director's commentary. Burton directed a number of scenes to reflect the atmosphere of Hammer Horror-era movies and that works really well, even though I've only seen a few of those old films. The sets are all fantastic, and really give across the feel of the film; a small town was constructed right here in Blighty for the film's exterior shots, while the lengthy wood sequences were filmed expertly inside a studio back in Yank. The fact that you really can't tell is a testament to both the film's set designers and high budget, as the 'dead' feeling couldn't have been found in any un-artificial forest. The majority of the film was shot through a blue lens to create the dark and sinister feel, while the short portions of Ichabod's tortured childhood memories are filmed in bright, dream-like colours of white and strong red. As a
humorous note, all the blood in the film was required to be made bright orange as the blue filter could 'red it up,' and there's certainly a lot of blood in this film which is odd as it doesn't appear particularly gory; only in a fantasy and often darkly comedic way.

As well as the excellent look and directing of the film, special credit must be given to the actors who are fantastic. Johnny Depp plays Ichabod as a man who is stern in his principles but clearly an abject coward, although he manages to find love with Christina Ricci, another very talented actress. Christopher Walken is great as the Horseman, his contact lenses and sharp teeth really creating an unforgettable image, and the group of old men played by Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones and others make an enjoyable and humorous bunch; director Burton seems especially fond of their scenes. The only slight problem I have is with actor Casper Van Dien, who played the lead role in Starship Troopers; I just don't find he suits his character too well, although he is adequate.

If you have ever been put off by Sleepy Hollow's fairy tale nature or apparent childishness, there is truly none of that; this is something which I would have really liked as a child but really love as an [eighteen-year-old] adult. The film has horror - some really great and shocking scenes, most notably when the Horseman is sent to a family's home, while Ichabod's surfacing memories are also very chilling; fantasy - the notion of a horseman, witchcraft and the Western Woods are all very well realised; romance - it's obvious from the chemistry between the characters and actors that Ichabod and Katrina belong together; and humour - heads designed to spin when severed and occasional jokes such as blood squirts and Ichabod terrified of a spider under his be
d prevent it from becoming too sinister. The only problems I have with the film is that the ending seems to last a lot longer than expected, taking place over a number of scenes, and this can make it a little tedious after multiple watches.

In terms of the DVD, Sleepy Hollow's animated menus are very attractive and include images and musical scores from the film. There are two interesting 'making of' documentaries, including great scenes of the decapitated heads being made and how Christopher Walken managed to ride a horse without being able to ride horses. There are also two trailers, which I always find a nice addition, cast biographies which can be useful, a photo gallery and the afore-mentioned director's commentary.

I would recommend Sleepy Hollow to anyone who hasn't seen it as, although violent and horrific in parts, it's a really enjoyable film with some classic scenes and the film's atmosphere is very involving and mystical. If you feel like watching something special at night, this is a film I'd recommend for all the family, even though it's a 15 certificate - this is only for the death and gore; there is no swearing, sex or nudity.

Summary: Sleepy Hollow