What a Great Movie

Rating: 10/10 (13 May 2004)

I own this movie on DVD and watched it for the first time in about a year last week, and it made me realize what a great movie it really is. To truly appreciate Sleepy Hollow you need to watch it a few times and absorb the beauty surrounding it.
First off, Tim Burton did an amazing job casting this movie. Of course everyone always loves everything Johnny Depp does, but his performance in this is one of the best of his career. Christina Ricci is a perfect choice, she has that ethereal beauty and the dark yet angelic aura. And having Christopher Walken as the horseman is awesome, because he is one of those actors who can be a real badass when he wants to. I also liked Jeffry Jones as the scandalous priest, for he always plays characters who are a little shady. And it was cool to see Casper Van Dien finally in a good movie! I liked him in Starship Troopers as Rico and he is perfect in this as the all braun no brains badass. Basically all th supporting cast enhance this movie and make it that much better.
The storyline is fairly complex but not overly hard to follow. By the end you know what's going on, but you can still pick up on little things if you watch it a few times giving it some replay value in that respect. The dialogue is good but there are a couple odd lines and a few one liners that are kind of cheesy" i.e. "watch your head" or "your just in time to have you head cut off" etc. But for the most part, all the one liners are delivered well and are humorous.
Overall the dialogue is pretty strong and witty.
Where the film really shines is in the visuals. My god, this movie just looks so damn cool! Everything has an dark, gothic surrealism to it. There is a fall setting with fog surrounding the landscape at all times, and it is always dark and spooky. All the characters have pale white skin and everything in the scenery looks purposely fake, which is what makes it so cool. It's just so beautiful to look at and it really adds to the fantasy aspect of the tale that has elements of halloween, witchcraft, legends and lore interwoven throughout. It's almost as if your watching a play. This movie is the most visually satistfying movie I have ever seen. Its just art, plain and simple.
:::some spoilers coming up::: This movie is also very badassed. There are some great death scenes amongst other background images you may notice. First of all, the scene where Cas Van Dien is cut in 2, man that was stylish. Second, when the Horseman stakes the guy through the chest, and drags his body so his head is just off the holy ground so he can lop it off, that was just genious. And the bloody kiss at the end was disturbingly hilarious. There were also little things that added to the nostalgia of the film such as the little boys spook candle that lit the room, or the flames that burst into a face when the horseman came, or the pumpkin headed scarecrow. :::end spoilers:::
A lot of my friends hate this movie, and I always give them hell for it. Just don't expect it to be a horror film. It's more of a gothic fantasy tale with some black comedy. It's a visual extravaganza with the enhancement of great acting/casting, a good storyline, and amazing imagery, not to be missed. I give it 9.5/10 stars.