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Dom Robinson reviews

Sleepy Hollow

Heads will roll.

Distributed by

Cert:
Cat.no: P 8986 DVD
Running time: 101 minutes
Year: 1999
Pressing: 2000
Region(s): 2, PAL
Chapters: 18 plus extras
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.85:1
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: DVD 9
Price: £19.99
Extras : Scene index, 2 Theatrical Trailers, Behind the Legend, Reflections on Sleepy Hollow, Director's Commentary, Photo Gallery, Biographies, Animated Menus

Director:

Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Producers:

Scott Rudin and Adam Schroeder

Screenplay:

Andrew Kevin Walker

based on the story by Washington Irving

Music:

Danny Elfman

Cast:

Constable Ichabod Crane: Johnny Depp

Arizona Dream, The Astronaut's Wife, Benny and Joon, Dead Man, Don Juan de Marco, Donnie Brasco, Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Nick of Time, Sleepy Hollow, What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Katrina Anne Van Tassel: Christina Ricci

200 Cigarettes, The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Buffalo 66, Casper, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Ice Storm, The Last of the High Kings, Mermaids, The Opposite of Sex, Sleepy Hollow, That Darn Cat

Lady Van Tassel/The Western Woods Crone: Miranda Richardson

Alice in Wonderland, Century, Damage, Empire of the Sun, Enchanted April, The Evening Star, Fatherland, Sleepy Hollow, Tom and Viv, TV: Blackadder II, A Dance to the Music of Time, Merlin

Baltus Van Tassel: Michael Gambon

The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover, Dancing at Lughnasa, The Gambler, Mary Reilly, Mobsters, Nothing Personal, Plunkett and Macleane, The Rachel Papers, Sleepy Hollow, Toys, The Wings of the Dove, TV: The Singing Detective

Sleepy Hollow is the name of the town where murders have apparently been committed by a headless horseman, the town's legend dating back twenty years before when The Hessian Horseman (Christopher Walken) was up to less than no good.

Now, the year is 1799, a time before the Millennium Dome, Batman remakes and tattoos that read "Winona Forever". Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent to investigate and stays with the Tassel family, Baltus Van Tassel (Michael Gambon), his wife (Miranda Richardson) and daughter Katrina (Christina Ricci). While there, more murders take place, but surely the headless horseman can't have come back to life?

If he hadn't there wouldn't have been a film and every time he attacks, he decapitates his victim with a good, clean swipe, adding to the many gross things seen in this 15-certificate film. Doesn't sound like an easy man to kill, since he's already dead. The film also includes supporting roles from Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Michael Gough and cameos for Alun Armstrong, the sergeant from City Central and Christopher Lee as Burgomaster, who sends Crane off to do his bidding.

The film is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio, as per the original cinema release, although there is a distinct layer of grain through the film that makes the dark scenes, of which there are many, occasionally difficult to watch. The average bitrate is a great 7.14Mb/s, regularly peaking over 9Mb/s and it's all on a dual-layer disc.

The sound, in Dolby Digital 5.1, is well done too, although it's mainly a combination of dialogue, an eerie score and the sound of a blade sending heads rolling.

Extras :

Chapters :

18 chapters over 101 minutes, so it could use more.

Languages and Subtitles :

There's just one language on this disc - English, but it is available in Dolby Digital 5.1. There are also English subtitles for the hard of hearing.

And there's more :

I've not seen what's on the Region 1 DVD but I'd be surprised if it didn't include all of the following: 2 Theatrical Trailers, the second being treated, like the film itself, to give the print a washed-out feeling in some parts to evoke the period in which the film is set, a Photo Gallery and Biographies on the main actors.

Behind the Legend and Reflections on Sleepy Hollow are featurettes going behind the scenes lasting thirty and eleven minutes respectively, both containing many film clips and interviews with cast and crew members. Finally, there's a feature-length Director's Commentary.

Menu :

The menus appear to be set in the forest from the film, are animated and have some subtle music playing in the background with cool 'movement' between areas of the forest when you access a different menu.

Overall, if you're a fan of the film and are thinking of buying the DVD it would be worth finding out first if the Region 1 disc is affected by the same grain problem in the print.

As for the film, it started off with promise but soon became a ridiculous load of nonsense with Burton throwing in one dark-setting-with-a-preposterous-occurence after another.

For those who did enjoy the film though, visit the Competition page to win a copy of the film on DVD from now until Friday 4th August.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.

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