Tim Burton Gets Heads Up

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2009)

Like it says on the DVD sleeve, "Master storyteller Tim Burton weaves an eerie, enchanting version of this classic tale of horror. Jonny Depp is 'Ichabod Crane', an eccentric investigator determined to stop the murderous 'Headless Horseman'. Christina Ricci is 'Katrina Van Tassel', the beautiful and mysterious girl with secret ties to the supernatural terror." Director Burton's "Sleepy Hollow" gallops very far away from the classic short story read in high school (at least the one I attended); though, the plot enhancements make it a better feature-length film. This version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" should be taken as a completely different story.
Herein, Mr. Depp plays Washington Irving's ugly Connecticut schoolmaster as an attractive, faint-hearted New York constable. He is sent to solve a series of mysterious decapitation murders in small-town "Sleepy Hollow".
Squeamish and scientific, Depp is convinced the supernatural forces are not a factor in the crimes, but events continuously challenge his scientific belief system. Interestingly, Depp is given an appealing sidekick, Marc Pickering as "Young Masbeth". The film has the sense of humor welcome in horror, but often goes overbroad with one-liners and blood-splattering "camp". Yet, the fantastical "Sleepy Hollow" world created by Burton, Emmanuel Lubezki, Rick Heinrichs, Peter Young, and the production crew can't be overlooked. Martin Landau, Christopher Lee, and Christopher Walken have small, but stellar roles.
******** Sleepy Hollow (11/17/99) Tim Burton ~ Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Marc Pickering, Miranda Richardson