Washington Irving would roll in his grave

Rating: 1/10 (13 May 2002)

Having grown up IN the ORIGINAL Sleepy Hollow I've walked down the streets and through the graveyard. I've seen the landmarks a dozen times, toured Washington Irving's home, and read his original work more time then I can remember. As usual, the powers that be have taken a piece of literature and so twisted the story around that for all intents and purposes "Sleepy Hollow" is a completely differant story then it was. To start out with, the entire look and landscape is almost completely differant then the actual area. It is much spookier, darker, and stranger then anywhere around here that I know of. In actuality the area is actually quite pretty, sitting right on the Hudson river with only the occasional fog and rain. Second of all, the Headless Horseman never had an axe, nor did he decapitate his victims, nor did he even HAVE any victims. The original story depicts the Headless Horseman as a story, a myth, a legend of which there is no real evidence to back up his existence. Bodies were not found all over the area and the towns people were not genuinely frightened by his supposed presence. Perhaps the biggest mistake made is that of Johnny Depp's character, "Constable Crane?" Where did THAT one come from? Read the original story and Ichabod Crane is a clumsy, bumbling school teacher that is sent to the town as just that, a teacher. Depp's character is more reminiscent of a Van Damme or Stallone-type action hero then Irving's original character.
In and of itself the movie is well done, Tim Burton chalks up another point for his visual imagery and all of the actors do their jobs well, particularly Depp, Walken, and Ricci. The only problem that remains is that again, a studio has taken a masterful story and butchered it in to a more gruesome, bloody, and differant story than it was back when Washington Irving first scribed it. Finding a copy of Irving's original text is not difficult, I urge anyone who has seen this movie to read the work and then make up your mind.