Full of heady goodness

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2010)

Tim's got an undeniable knack for visuals... they'll usually be Gothic, mostly breath-taking, and always excellent. He also has a bit of a twisted side to his humor. Furthermore, he is talented in bringing colorful and well-designed creatures and characters, often of his own creation, to life. And lastly, he does atmosphere so extremely well, it's really just about beyond reproach. All of those are evident here. He takes an old and famous legend(which, I should point out, I have not read, all I know of it is what was in this, and that dull made-for-TV movie that I've also reviewed, from the same year and of the same title, save for adding "The Legend of" to the beginning... so I can make no comparisons or judge the accuracy of this adaptation), reinterprets it and puts together a period piece of immense enjoyment even for those not necessarily into such(I should know, I am one). The plot is interesting throughout, and develops nicely. It's not too predictable, and the twists are great. This is a rather satisfying mystery. The pacing is pretty much spot-on, this is never boring, and the action is cool and exciting... you really can not go wrong when you let Ray Park loose in front of a camera and give him someone to beat up or slash at(the choreography is masterful). This has great acting by most... putting Depp(as the squeamish and eccentric Ichabod) and Ricci(am I the only one who can just get lost in those doe-eyes?) in the same film makes perfect sense, especially under this man's direction. Even Van Dien and the children are pretty convincing. Richardson utterly steals the show, and it looks like she was as ecstatic to be in this as it is for us to watch her. The script is well-written, and the dialog is marvelous. In addition to being bleak, creepy and a stunning recreation of the look of the period(with magnificent sets and costumes), this is wacky and comical. Somehow, the tone works. Fantastic score. The FX hold up well, and are used as a tool, not the focus. A young police officer(Johnny) openly protests the horrible conditions of the justice system of 1799, and advocates science in place of imprisoning people based on pure suspicion. A judge(played by Christopher Lee, who commands the screen in his short cameo) sends him to the small town of Sleepy Hollow, under the guise that he is to capture whoever has been killing its citizens recently. What he isn't told until he gets there, is that this is no mere mortal... it is the feared headless horseman(who is built up well, and has an impact whenever we see him in this). Will he have to reconsider his stance, that everything has a natural explanation? And what, precisely, *is* going on? There is quite graphic, bloody violence and gore in this, some material is disturbing, and there is a little bit of mild sexuality and language. The DVD comes with an informational and funny commentary track by Burton, a 29 minute documentary entitled Behind the Legend(I will review it on its own page here on the site), 11 minutes of cast interviews(worth the time, note that they contain spoilers for this, as does the cast list here), a teaser and a trailer for this and finally a small photo gallery. I recommend this to any fan of those who made it. 8/10