A moody masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2000)

This is my film of 2000. I know, there hasn't been a lot of 2000 yet, but still... I went to see this as a curiosity, as I like Tim Burton's films generally, and was expecting a competent film version of Washington Irving's story (luckily, I'd managed to avoid seeing any trailers, so I just knew the story of the Legend). What I wasn't expecting was such a perfect film. For me, it succeeded on all fronts. There was something almost indefinable about the exterior sets which gave the film an amazing feeling of pervading evil, and it's perhaps this which made the film succeed so well. The acting was universally suitable (including a small part for Hammer veteran Christopher Lee) - Depp, in particular, managed his usual trick of being fascinating to watch, and even turned out a good English accent; the direction was strong - I was glued to the screen throughout the film (never a thought of "How much longer to go?" or "What time is it?"); the film's script was intelligent and compelling - Depp's character being, quite rightly, the core and most important invention to "flesh out" the Sleepy Hollow Legend into a proper cinematic story; the Horseman was perfectly realised - none of the old unbelievable "extended shoulders" trick (I later read that they painstakingly deleted the actor's balaclava'd head from EVERY frame of the film in which the Horseman appears!); and all of this was supported by the
beautifully-lit sets, which, as I say, sustained a mood of nightmare-like evil all through the film. I can't wait for it's release on video!