La leyenda del jinete sin cabeza

I thoroughly enjoyed this collaboration between Tim Burton, Andrew Kevin Walker and Washington Irving. Combining such incredible talents as Mr. Burton and Mr. Walker proved quite the appropriate recipe for recreating the Irving classic. I have read may other comments about this movie and I find it very disturbing that most people either compare it to Star Wars: Phantom Menace or complain that it is too far removed from the original story.

For these people I have a few comments. First, the only connections and comparisons to Star Wars are the actor Ian McDiarmid and the actor/stuntman Ray Park. Beyond that there is nothing within this movie that comes remotely close to a comparison to Star Wars. In my opinion this movie was better than that box office behemoth. If *****had spent as much time on his script for ***, perhaps it would have been as intriguing as Sleepy Hollow. Next, for those who were not satisfied with the movie's departure from the Irving classic I have but one piece of advice: read the story again. Washington Irving was masterful at creating scenes and setting atmosphere but The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was a 20 page examination of the little village and the loves of Ichabod Crane (women, food, writings et al) The Horseman, though mentioned a handful of times, did not appear until the last couple pages and then it alluded to the idea that Brom Bones was the culprit, in disguise, to frighten the poor hero Ichabod.

There have been other writings and interpretations of the Sleepy Hollow story that focus more on the spectral form of the Headless Horseman. I believe this movie was done in the spirit of those other works and is among the best. It brings to life the setting of this little valley and attempts to recreate the feeling that Washington Irving described best in his story. It was indicated that Sleepy Hollow was a magical and dream like place, thus the name "Sleepy Hollow." In this little upstate valley the strangest things occur and such ghosts and goblins roam freely if only in the mind of the inhabitants. Tim Burton manages to capture that sensation and allows the audience to feel as if they stepped not into a theater, but another world.

Andrew Kevin Walker's workup and translation of the story also makes for a compelling movie. Allowing the changes for the movie adaptation were a sign of genius. Displacing the hero and introducing him to the Sleepy Hollow atmosphere along with the audience, enhanced the experience. Giving a clear background for the Horseman, which is only briefly provided in the original story, was also an improvement to the movie's story. Let's face it, if they had made a 105 minute movie that tried to replicate the original short story there would have been whole theaters full of "sleepy" patrons.

The acting was also superb giving a hand to Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci for fabulous performances. As for the rest of the cast? Fantastic. To see all of these wonderful actors in secondary roles was a treat. Starting with Christopher Lee as the chief magistrate in New York; Jeffrey Jones, Michael Gough, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gambon, Miranda Richardson and even Casper Van Dien all did magnificent work.

Though the story lagged at moments, they were few and far between. The editing in the beginning was a bit choppy but ran more fluently after the 20-30 minute point. An excellent adaptation of a great story. This was definitely a movie that Burton was born to make.

Tim Burton has brought this timeless classic to life! "Sleepy Hollow" is a very fine film, with horrific delights, a touch of romance, and witty humor. I was very impressed with the cinematography and the elaborate costumes in this film. Also, the music and sound effects complimented this frightening and legendary story of the murderous Headless Horseman. Overall, I believe this is an excellent film and will definitely be remembered as a landmark in the thriller/horror genre of film.

Enjoyable version about known Washington Irving's novel, titled ¨The legend of Sleepy Hollow¨. It concerns on Ichabod Crane(excellently personified by Johnny Depp). He's a N.Y. constable assigned to investigate brutal murders in a little town named Sleepy Hollow. Crane is housed by Balthus Van Tassel(Michael Gambon), whose beautiful daughter(Christina Ricci) falls in love for him. At the beginning Crane denies to believe that a rider without head committing the grisly killings, but he's early convinced when seeing the graphic evidence of his own hands. Meanwhile, wealthy authorities and rich proprietaries (Richard Griffiths,Ian McDiarmid,Michael Gough,Michael Gambon) from village reunite to planning and defending against the amazing beheaded creature.Finally, all it leads to an unexpected twist and breakthrough ending on what's happened before.

This is an agreeable and effective film, still has shock value from grisly killings .It's proceeded with a Burton style and containing colorful images and wonderful dreams with Burtonized narrative. The movie is plenty on suspense, thriller, grisly terror and sensationalistic set pieces horror when the decapitations take place. Wide use of gore and now famous decapitation , for those who like this kind of things. Casting frankly extraordinary with several famous actors and exceptional secondary cast and special cameos by Martin Landau and Christopher Lee .Glimmer cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki and sensational musical score by Danny Elffman, both are Burton's usual. The film is lavishly produced by Francis Ford Coppola-Zeotrope studios- and Kevin Yagher-famous makeup expert- .The motion picture is marvellously directed with visual style and fair-play by the great Tim Burton. Rating : Magnificent flick and better than average.

These days, there aren't a lot of directors working in Hollywood that have a style all their own. Tim Burton is definitely one of them. His brand of quirky, often gothic-inspired filmmaking is ideally suited for a property like "Sleepy Hollow" with its legendary headless horseman.

Based on Washington Irving's classic short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", this movie adaptation definitely falls into the category of 'loosely based on'. The iconic Ichabod Crane is here in the form of Johnny Depp but instead of a schoolmaster he's a police constable dispatched from the big city in order to investigate a series of decapitations. I think this was a step in the right direction in refashioning the story for a modern audience. Depp's Crane is still a less than heroic character but his futuristic (at the time) methods of detection make him a more palatable protagonist. However, I think that the script goes too far with the mystery angle by presenting us with an altogether too convoluted plot.

Luckily, a fine cast was put in place to prevent the movie from completely losing its audience. As always, Tim Burton brings out the best in Johnny Depp and here he has no problem carrying the movie. Christina Ricci, on the other hand, seems miscast and fails to leave much of an impression. Instead, it's the fine supporting cast that stands out with the likes of Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths, Jeffrey Jones & Michael Gough all contributing greatly to the film's atmosphere.

Speaking of atmosphere, this movie is shrouded in a rich gothic atmosphere from beginning to end. The Oscar-winning art direction is exquisite, as are the Oscar-nominated costumes & cinematography. Add in a score by Danny Elfman and you've got a movie that unmistakably bears the imprint of Tim Burton. The only complaint I have is that some of the special effects are a bit cheesy, which may have been intentional.

"Sleepy Hollow" is a movie that does a lot of things right but its effectiveness is crippled by a meandering story that fails to keep you on the edge of your seat. As a horror movie it's fairly tame (despite all of the decapitations) and as a mystery it's not really that satisfying. It's definitely worth watching for fans of Tim Burton but it fails to wring all that it could have out of Washington Irving's template.

Any reservations that I had about the film being be a turkey, were almost immediately quelled upon seeing the movie. From the offset Mr. Depp throws himself into the role of Icabod Crane with enthusiasm and gusto; portraying excellently a man of "science" suddenly out of his depth in legend. Christina Ricci also plays the role of Katrina van Tassel superbly; a sure sign of good things to come from this talented young actress.

I would be reluctant to call this film an outright horror film - the special effects are used primarily to enhance the plot and visual appearence, and the gore level is low. The visual detail is a masterpiece - the sets are fantastic and lighting brilliant. Tim Burton has superbly used music and suspense to build the thrill in the film. However, the comical interjections provide the required break-up of the suspense.

All in all a very well put together film, with solidly good acting, and most of all a superb plot. Well worth seeing!