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Sleepy
Hollow
review by Terry Wickham
Spectacular filmmaking. This is an instant classic that is a piece of art. Every single frame is painstakingly executed with stunning visual composition. Tim Burton has made his best film and a horror film for the entire world to cherish. Paramount has done a wonderful job loading this DVD with trailers, "Behind the Legend" featurette, cast and crew interviews, photo gallery, cast biographies and commentary by Tim Burton. From the Paramount Pictures logo, which is where Danny Elfman's astonishing music starts, this film rocks! Burton doesn't approach the old American legend of the headless horseman with hesitation. He goes for the throat, aggressively bringing Washington Irving's story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to the big screen. In 1799, three people have been murdered in the small village of Sleepy Hollow, in scenic upstate New York. Each victim has had his or her head cleanly lopped off. The Burgomaster (Christopher Lee) from New York City, assigns Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) to go up and investigate the murders. Crane is to use his odd scientific tools and quick mind to expose the killer. The judge looks at Constable Crane as an eccentric investigator who uses unproved methods and is not afraid to speak up about his contemporaries' refusal to look deeper into finding out criminal answers. Crane gladly accepts the assignment and off to Sleepy Hollow he goes by horse drawn carriage. Burton really excels in this sequence intercutting breathtaking sets, with real locations and probably some sort of visual artwork, whether matte paintings or CGI. The upstate New York backgrounds are beyond beautiful. I also got a real kick out of Burton's signature use of elementary explanations of places and things, like the map drawing of New York City to Sleepy Hollow. It's just a quick little cut in the scope of the film, but Burton's use of crudely drawn map and Johnny Depp's incredible reactions are simply marvelous and I think quite funny. Johnny Depp is at his best. Ichabod Crane is a strange fellow as he is a criminal investigator who cringes at the site of a house spider. Not the type you would expect to be combating the headless horseman, but the character combination is ingenious. Depp has a real gift for comic timing and together with his cast mates they work with Burton hand in hand. There isn't anyone miscast in the film. Burton seemingly pulls rabbits out of his hat with casting Christopher Walken as the headless horseman, Christopher Lee as the judge at the beginning of the film and Miranda Richardson as the evil conniving Lady Mary Van Tassel practically steals the show. Emmanuel Lubezki was robbed of an Academy Award. His cinematography is as good as it can possibly get. The locations and sets are seamlessly lit with loving detail. Lubezki captures horrific atmosphere that few films can match. The shadows and darkness pulsate off the screen like it's real life. The little touches of red light coming from the horseman's tree or the scenes in the dark wood covered bridge are done with a master's photographic hand. I could endlessly watch this film and continuously be overwhelmed with the image quality, which is a real testament to both Emmanuel Lubezki and Tim Burton. Danny Elfman matches Burton's skill level on this film and produces his best work. I mentioned Elfman's growth as a composer in my review of his score to Instinct, but he goes beyond that with Sleepy Hollow. Elfman captures the autumn season and upstate New York with his powerhouse score. The moments that need a gentle touch, Elfman accomplishes with a velvet hand and when real force is needed, Elfman whips his orchestra into an eruption of sound. Elfman rides the transitional cuts with amazing zest, like the beginning when Peter Van Garrett (Martin Landau) is killed. Burton and Elfman have sealed the deal, as one of the most memorable filmmaking duos that contribute to the cinema. Colleen Atwood's costumes and Rick Heinrichs production design work cannot be overlooked. Editor Chris Lebenzon also made a great impact. The film's opening, incorporating a bunch of inserts is assembled in such a way that it's clearly understood and done with invisible style. Tim Burton has a body of work that ranks him up there towards the top of our modern directors. Burton's work with the actors in Sleepy Hollow has not been really noticed. He helps coax extraordinary performances from the leads to the extras. Everyone is on the same page, so Burton does a phenomenal job of communicating what he wants. It is kind of odd that he uses his wife, the voluptuous Lisa Marie, in another somewhat torturous way. On the audio commentary Burton recognizes this and says next time he would like to give her a softer character. If I were you, I would go out of my way to see this film. Better yet, you should own this. It'll give you pleasure for many years to come.
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