Rish Outfield's reviews
This movie was almost too beautiful. You may ask, can something, anything, be TOO beautiful? Haven't you ever known a girl so attractive that it hurt to look at her, that to gaze upon her you felt a sort of dizzy sickness, that you had to (as much as you didn't want to) glance in another direction?
Well, I felt that from time to time during Sleepy Hollow. Things were too picturesque, too artistic, too perfect, and sometimes, it lessened my enjoyment of the film.
Johnny Depp was wonderful (can I use that word describing a "21 Jump Street" cast member?) as Constable Ichabod Crane, both intellectual and cowering, in a funny and endearing part. Christina Ricci was luminous, like a small, fragile, flower--
What the hell is wrong with me? Is this a review or a page from the diary of a fourteen year old girl?
Sorry.
Let me start again, now that I've had time to drink some warm milk: I really enjoyed this movie, even more than I thought I would. I'm a Tim Burton fan, but had lost a lot of faith in him since the terrific The Nightmare Before Christmas. Luckily, Sleepy Hollow renewed my faith. It had some nice scares (mostly during the first half), a couple of great plot twists, and it was neat to see Christopher Lee again, if only for thirty seconds. The cast was great, especially the aforementioned Depp and Ricci (playing well against type), and included such Burton favourites as Michael Gough, Martin Landau, and Jeffrey Jones, plus "Star Wars"' Ian McDiarmid. The best thing about the film, as I so sappily tried to say before, was its atmosphere. Sleepy Hollow was a wondrous place, with a magical air and a place where I imagine even one such as I could find peace. The sets and backdrops were masterful, Oscar-worthy, amazingly imaginative, otherworldly. The dream sequences were strange and unexplained, but helped bring ambience to the piece.
My only complaint was the feeling that a lot had been edited. When Brom Bones (or whatever this version calls him) plays his prank on Ichabod, it felt out of nowhere. A lot of subplots and character development that I could see the remnants of, had disappeared, in favour of more action, I suppose. In fact, I can count three lines from the trailer that weren't in the film.
The Headless Horseman himself was scary, until we knew what he was and why he was. Worse, in flashbacks, when portrayed by Christopher Walken--all snarling and viscious--he was merely ridiculous, and even more cartoon-like than the Disney version.
But the Walken stuff is forgivable, and I can always hope for a director's cut. All in all, what a moody, artful film. Oh, and there were about fifteen beheadings as well.
Best Scare: Probably during one of Ichabod's dreams about his mother, or the revelation of the crone's face.
I'd Recommend It To: A lot of people who aren't into Horror, any Tim Burton fan, and fans of dark fairy tales.

The tyranist's thoughts
I have loved Tim Burton since the day I saw Beetlejuice for the first time. He is a man of dark vision who shares my sense of humor, justice, and the weird. There are probably other sensibilities that we share as well. When I heard that he was going to be making a new adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, I almost cried. I waited months for the movie to come out. When Rish would ask me to list the movies I most anticipated for the fall, Sleepy Hollow was always near the top (I'm too big of a James Bond fan for it to ever be the top).
When it finally came out all of my well-laid plans were for naught and I actually saw it a week after it hit the theatres. Still, no one had spoiled it for me and I was able to feast on the visual masterpiece that is Sleepy Hollow. I have never read the original story (I can't explain why), but this adaptation is the one I like the best thus far. It caters to my sense of darkness. It fosters the notion that witchcraft and christendom can coexist peacefully even if they think they are looking at different sides of the coin. It tells me that even when you least suspect it, there is a way to understand.
I am probably not making sense to many of you, and for that I apologize a little. I find it difficult to talk about this movie the same way that I find it difficult to explain those few perfect moments in my life. Sleepy Hollow isn't perfect, but it defies common words. You will likely never see a more visually and aesthetically pleasing horror movie.
Note: I finally read the original Washington Irving story and I can definitively tell you that it is nothing like the Tim Burton film. Names are preserved but that is about it. Still, I think that this story is more engaging and creepy, whereas the original holds a whole world of rustic charm and urban legend. I say enjoy both and just treat the film as its own story.