WOW! The most fascinating movie I EVER SAW!!

Rating: 10/10 (4 August 2000)

(Warning: this "might" contain spoilers..) Tim Burton again proved himself an extremely creative director through this movie, which- I think- the best among all his work. With the exception of the rushed exposition of the events, everything in the movie was excellent. While watching the movie,I was first fascinated by the marvellous music of Danny Elfman during the scene in which Van Garret was completing his will. Actually, the music was so impressive throughout the movie that in some scenes, you feel suspense not because of the scene but because of the music (e.g. the scene in which the doctor, notary, magistrate Philips and Reverend Steenwyck was discussing among themselves,etc..) Then, I was again fascinated- this time by the magnificient cinematography ( every time gloomy and colorless; causing us to feel the fear of death ) created by Emmanuel Lubezki, who won numerous awards by his great work in Sleepy Hollow. However, he could not win the Academy Award although he was one of the five nominees, and "American Beauty's" winning the Oscar for the best cinematography is - I think- one of the biggest mistakes in the 72-year-history of Academy Awards!! Moreover, the casting was wonderful- perhaps the greatest of this year. The only problem was that Christina Ricci could have played more enthusiastically, but that is all; everything else about the cast was perfect or nearly so. I especially loved Christopher Walken as the Hessian horseman, yelling cruelly every time. Also, the makeup was so great that he seemed much more horrible than any of the characters in "Hammer" horror films. Besides, Johnny Depp's performance as "Ichabod Crane" and Miranda Richardson's both as "Lady Van Tassel" and "The Western Woods Crone" were really outstanding. Also, it was a nice surprise to see Christopher Lee, one of the biggest stars of "Hammer" horror films,in this movie. Though short, his performance as the burgomaster was absolutely impressive,adding much in the beginning to the moody atmosphere of the movie. Finally, the story was extremely breathtaking; no chance to get bored!!!! Perhaps, this was the greatest movie of this year!! 10 out of 10!