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Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Director: Tim Burton

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Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

1799: New York police inspector Ichabod Crane (Depp) is sent to investigate a murder case in the provinces, in the hope it will purge him of his newfangled scientific theories. But there's little mystery about the crimes at Sleepy Hollow. Everyone knows the guilty party is the legendary 'headless horseman', a Prussian hussar who used to terrorise the countryside. Much taken by the enigmatic Katrina Van Tassel (Ricci), Crane chooses to confront his fear and dig a little deeper, even as everyone who's anyone in the town begins to lose his head. Burton's free interpretation of Washington Irving's classic bogey tale has a lustrous, black velvet look that draws on fairy tale traditions, Disney, Gothic and Dutch Colonial styles - with a pinch of Hammer Horror thrown in. Depp affects a vaguely English accent and a prissy, slightly effeminate demeanour as Crane. It's a witty but fatally caricatured performance which precludes much in the way of emotional investment, and generates negligible chemistry with a pallid Ricci. This is more plot-driven than Burton's norm, and it moves at a fair lick, but even so, its attractions are all atmospheric, while narrative convolutions tend to come in undigested gobbets of explanation. For about an hour it's a fine, ghoulish carnival sideshow, and that has its charms, but there's a thin desperation about the climax.

Author: TCh 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

  • Laurie said...
    Posted on Mar 03 2008 15:30 this movie was funny, but almost like an old fashion movie. this is my favorite movie to watch. it's very watchable.
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Cast & crew

Director: Tim Burton

Producer: Scott Rudin, Adam Schroeder

Cast: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Caspar Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Christopher Walken, Claire Skinner, Christopher Lee, Alun Armstrong, Martin Landau full cast

Genre(s): Horror

Duration: 105 mins

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