Am I the only person that really likes “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), especially Christina Ricci?

No. It’s one of my favorite Burton films, it’s the perfect subject matter and story for his aesthetic.

It went on a little long but its probably my favorite Depp performance.

It's the full shebang with the budget, actors and Danny Elfman music. I like the movie, but I've always loved Washington Irving and also the geographical and historical settings of this and Rip Van Winkle. I also thought Johnny Depp was very handsome for about 2 decades.

I love this movie. The magic and evil parts were especially cool.

I liked it.

The DVD I bought had an extra feature of all the errors the movie (deliberately for dramatic effect) made, like a corpse, that was dug out of its grave, squirting blood when cut open.

Christi e Ricci was in Black Snake Moan. A very weird movie about a nymphomaniac that gets cured but being chained and tamed by Samuel L Jackson

I also owned the VHS to this. My parents bought the VHS instead of the DVD because there was a VHS player in the living room (and my bedroom) vs the DVD player in their bedroom. I used to watch this all the time late at night! I loved it.

One of my fondest memories was one Friday night in December, around 9pm, I decided to go to the living room to watch it. My parents and sisters were already in bed (for whatever reason). My bedroom was separate from the rest of the apartment. You had to go through the hallway (not in the apartment) to get the actual apartment. My room was in the corner, toward the front, by itself. My room had a big window in it, you could see outside clearly. I went to see the movie, then when it was finished left to go back to my bedroom. I left, locked the door, then walked to my bedroom, and when i went inside, I could see the snow coming down hard outside. It was beautiful! When I left to see the movie it was not snowing, the ground had no snow on it, but now it was white outside! Within two hours!!!

I loved that. I just sat on my bed (which was near the window) and stared outside. It looked so beautiful.

Christina is also in that terrible movie Cursed, also starring Joshua Jackson, Jesse Eisenberg, Portia de Rossi, Judy Greer etc.

Good cast, bad film.

I loved it in theaters and haven't seen in since. I should watch it again. Hard to believe it's 20 years old.

[quote] Christina is also in that terrible movie Cursed, also starring Joshua Jackson, Jesse Eisenberg, Portia de Rossi, Judy Greer etc.

It also stars Milo Ventimiglia as closet case who bullies Jesse Eisenberg's character. Come to think of it, I haven't seen this movie in ages. Maybe I should re-watch it for Halloween.

R9 Milo Ventimiglia is also in Cursed, and plays the closeted gay guy that wants Jesse Eisenberg.

R11 jinx. Knock on wood.

I’m watching it right now. He ends up being closeted and wanting Eisenberg. He thinks Eisenberg is gay also.

It’s free on VuDu right now.

It’s now one of my favorites. As others have said, the music, the atmosphere, the direction, all fit very well. When I first rented it as a kid all those years ago, it scared the SHIT out of me.

r13. Dang. Can't watch it right, so I am a bit envious. But I do remember I very much liked the movie. It was fun. That opening scene with Shannon Elizabeth ripped in half made me LOL so hard for some reason.

It’s free on VuDu app or website until 10/31 r15

I liked when Christina Ricci was using her magic book and writing a pentacle on the floor of the church to protect everyone.

Oh, and I also loved the villainess' dress in the climactic scene.

Good still from the movie

I hope you are, OP. I hope everyone else are people WHO liked it

Another still

The village

Part of the films appeal was that it LOOKED good and had a fantastic atmosphere, and music.

Loved the little touches of color.

I get this movie confused with “From Hell”, probably because they both star Johnny Depp.

My stepdad always made fun of Christina Ricci and that she was so thin with such a huge head.

Lady Von Tassel's crone-killing dress

Lady von Tassel's final scene dress (I couldn't find any full images of it).

The costume designer Colleen Atwood has won quite a few Academy Awards:

When she walked from the shadows and approached Katrina after being “dead”, that music was amazing.

"The Ninth Gate" movie that Depp was in was a similar movie in tone, very drab and muted color scheme and it feels like it's set in the same period (even if it is later) because of the scenery. I found the drawings from that the best part.

I love Sleepy Hollow! The mood it sets is so perfect and I love the intro of Ichabod’s carriage ride to Sleepy Hollow. I thought that Christina never looked better. That pale blonde hair and the fact that she had the perfect look for the part of Katrina.

I remember Johnny Depp on the Today Show being grilled about the violence in this. I forget if it was Matt, but they were pretty tough on him.

Also, I agree that Sleepy Hollow, Ninth Gate and From Hell were very similar in mood and style. I love all three and I think they are Johnny’s best.

Depp was against Ricci being cast at first because he knew her since she was 9, he found it awkward. But then he realized she was perfect for the role.

Tim Burton is a great visual artist. Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Batman Returns, and Nightmare Before Christmas have a perfect dark fairy tales quality to them.

Yes, R31. The analysis of the subtle differences in the satanic drawings was fantastic. Also, the slow realization that he was himself on the path was great.

The Ninth Gate was directed by Roman Polanski.

Love the look, feel and idea of Sleepy Hollow, certainly, but like all Burton films it falls apart.

It seems to rush towards the end like he’s run out of time or money.

I remember feeling sorry for Richardson for having the burden of tying up all the loose ends with a much-too-long explanation.

She did her damndest to make it look effortless.

I loved it. The style and atmosphere are perfect. My ex was confused and upset that it didn’t follow the original storyline. He was an idiot who had no concept of reimagining stories. He also had a little dick and sucked in bed.

I watched Sleepy Hollow recently, I had seen it once when I was a kid so I thought I'd watch it again but this time round I found I spent more time staring at the clock than I did the screen. As I sat there and watched I couldn't help myself from critiquing the film, I think it could have been much better than it turned out to be. It appears Tim Burton was too busy putting all the focus on making the film aesthetically pleasing to his style rather than a good quality script. The dialogue was drab, the story itself was too basic and predictable and it felt like it was being explained in a dumb down kind of way which I thought was strange given how simple and easy the plot was to follow. Some of the scenes were just silly rather than scary or intriguing, for instance, the examining of the pregnant Widow Winships corpse and the blood squirting all over the place, the body had been dead for a very long time so the blood would've been 'dried up'. Somehow nobody seems to notice two little girls in pretty pink dresses with no coats on walking around in the woods in the dead of winter??... Ichabod Crane, the constable, who constantly faints at the least fearsome things but takes no issue with butchering up dead bloody corpses.... There were other characters in the film that were underdeveloped but appeared more interesting like Lady Van Tassel's crone witch sister, I don't think she got enough screen time and Katrina's hot fiancé, there needed to be more of him too. Also, Johnny as Ichabod was okay, nothing particularly great, just okay. Christina Ricci on the other hand was a poor choice for Katrina, I got nothing from her, NOTHING at all. She's such a terrible actress, no emotion whatsoever, she's right up there with that Twilight horseface bore.

I liked it a lot, but it's definitely the beginning of Johnny Depp going off the rails as an actor. Being weird isn't acting, Johnny.

Loved this movie - Michael Gambon as Baltus Van Tassel was perfectly hammy in the role. Johnny Depp was peak hotness in this movie.

R41

r39 it's a fantasy fairy tale movie, and it has to do with magic vs. science, etc.

The climactic scene where the villain explains her misdeeds is a common trope used in Victorian drawing-room-type mystery films and it fits with this one.

This was one of the last films that had Johnny Depp (and Tim Burton film) in it that I liked, btw. After this he spent more time chewing the scenery, wearing lots of makeup and costumes, and having stupid tics than actually acting. It's like seeing Jared Leto's version of the Joker in every film.

R44 Exactly. You seem him nibbling on the scenery in this, before he goes full buffet later on.

Depp said he based his performance in Sleepy Hollow on Angela Lansbury.

Very entertaining movie.

Ricci is the worst actress ever. On the plus side you can watch the movies she ruins projected on her forehead.

Sweeney Todd was better for atmosphere, in my opinion, and is a better movie. It's got music and it's based on a reasonably tight show, so Burton couldn't muck it up.

I loved the art direction, the atmosphere, the mystery in the first 2/3 of the movie.

For me, it all crumbled in the last 1/3. I still remember the cringe-worthy scene of the mill exploding (!). Also, most characters being killed in the church was lazy and dumb. The murders ALL being linked to money matters desappointed me. Too easy ? The resolution of all the subplots could have been a lot better and more developped.

I did appreciate that they didn't try to make the boy orphan/servant a cute kid we should fawn over.

Ichabold being adapted from a school teacher to an inventive policeman worked really well.

I'm glad Christopher Lee had a cameo.

I loved all the actors. To cast Chris Walken as the horseman is a stroke of genius.

If this was a Let's Be thread I would be the Widow Winship ! Johnny Depp placed such emphasis on her name that it stuck with me.

I also like the line, " ...none other than Baltus Van Tassel !"

I also laughed so hard when Ichabod woke up from first seeing the Headless Horseman. How all the men were calmly explaining the ghost like it was like seeing a random cow was funny to me . " But, his head... " " Yes, we told you"

I love that movie because it was like a cute Agatha Christie novel but with magic and ghosts.

R34 yes !!! Burton makes stunning visuals. Burton is who should have did the Hellboy remake. Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman was BEAUTIFUL. Those eys and that suit was just divine. I also notice he loves doll-like blondes, b/c Christina Ricci and the air girl from Miss Peregrine's School of Peculiar Children look so much alike.

Burton does love his blonde heroines : Alice in Wonderland, that air girl in Miss Peregrine's School, Eva Green in Dark Shadows, umm... there are more I'm forgetting.

r52, he actually prefers huge eyed, high cheekbone brunettes: Christina Ricci, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Lisa Marie (actress and wife), Eva Green, and Helena Bonham-Carter (actress and wife). I heard that he had a poster of Barbara Steele hanging up on his wall, and all those women are modelled after her.

I think he goes for a certain type of blonde and a certain type of Brunette.

He tends to use them differently

I watched this movie so often my parents ended up buying it on dvd lol. I haven't watched it in years but I do remember thinking Casper looked hot. And I always closed my eyes when [italic] that [/italic] scene with his mother comes on. R39 while you might be right about her sister I think we saw enough of her to get the picture 😄 I feel like everything started going downhill for Depp after Secret Window. How did they manage to fuck that up so spectacularly?!

His pastor father basically married a witch, and then killed her. WTF

"Love the look, feel and idea of Sleepy Hollow, certainly, but like all Burton films it falls apart. "

I agree. The first half is very entertaining, Depp is funny and likeable, and the idea of rationalism-vs-superstition is interesting. But then, once it becomes established that there really is a supernatural threat and rationalism is chucked out the window, Ichabod ceases to be interesting and the whole movie falls to bits.

I don't love the film, I consider it to be an interesting failure.

OP, because of (thanks to ?) you , I decided to watch the movie this afternoon. Where I live, it's been raining all day and automn looks a bit forlorn. So it is perfect for Sleepy Hollow, which I had not watched for a long time.

It is cool, but I remember now it was disappointing that the horseman was controlled by Lady Van Tassell. It robbed what was supposed to be a great villain of his power and dignity and made the movie less interesting.

Also, I will check and if there is none, I will start a let's be Sleepy Hollow thread.

I watched it again too! It's to remember there was a time when Johnny Depp was considered handsome & charming rather than gross and weird. I particularly love the music - it compliments the gloom of movie.

"From Hell," another Burton/Depp movie that came out a couple of years after this, was even better. That's a fantastic film.

From Hell isnt a Burton movie, is it?

Whoops, no it isn't a Burton movie it's the Hughes Bros. Sorry, I thought it was Burton. Anyway, it's an excellent "what if?" tale about Jack the Ripper and worth watching.

Yes, but "From Hell" stars one of the world's worst actresses - Heather Graham

She's not in much of the movie r63.

I was gonna say, From Hell has Heather Graham. Barf.

Heather Graham was good in Boogie Nights

[quote]Yes, but "From Hell" stars one of the world's worst actresses - Heather Graham

Is she really worse than Ricci?

Ricci is a good actress.

But! the Widow Winship was the best of them all, R68 !

"From Hell" is a good movie, but with an actress who could convincingly play a low-down London street whore it might have been much better. Graham can be decent in the right role, but her Brit accent was weak and she looked like a sparkling modern starlet instead of a hooker who's never seen indoor plumbing.

Depp was good. He used to be handsome and talented, once!

Anne should have played the whore

[quote]Am I the only person that[sic] really likes “Sleepy Hollow” (1999), especially Christina Ricci?

Yes, on the entire planet, you alone. I checked.

I love this film. This is when you are reminded why we were all enthralled with Johnny Depp for so long. Christina Ricci is perfect in it too. Great cast.

Loved it

Christopher Walker was amazing as usual.

I need to watch this again.

I am with you OP. Christina is my Favourite Actress and I just don't understand Hollywood. Why isn't she in any franchise or Tim Burton movie ??? She has more talent sex-appeal and mischief than Johansson, portman and J-law put together. She'd be a fantastic bad bond girl, lotte lenya style etc.

I loved how Richardson and Ricci really seemed to understand the clothes of the period. Upper class dresses forced woman to walk slowly and carefully and too many period films don't seem to understand this. It added a lot to the convincing feel of what was otherwise a highly-stylized Gothic.

It reminded me of A Company of Wolves, which I think is underrated.

OP and I are in a similar age range. I was not quite a middle schooler (I think I was in 5th grade when it came out), but I loved Tim Burton, was a fan of Christina Ricci (loved "Casper" and "Now and Then") and was also in love with Johnny Depp at the time, so this movie was a dream come true for my precocious, morbid 9-year-old self. I convinced my dad to take me to see it. I recall it coming out around Thanksgiving IIRC. It is very gory, but has a fairytale current running through it that off-sets some of the more disturbing elements. The murder of the little boy is downright grim though. It's still among my favorite movies, and is probably my favorite thing Burton has ever done. It's visually stunning, and all the performances are pitch-perfect. Christina Ricci was fantastic in it.

Loved Sleepy Hollow. It was a fun, atmospheric movie, even though it was only loosely based on the Washington Irving story. When I was in my teens, I visited the real Sleepy Hollow near Tarrytown NY. I spent a considerable time wandering around the amazing cemetery adjacent to the Old Dutch Church. The old statues, monuments, and mausoleums were out-of-this-world and dramatically beautiful. I have a morbid fascination for ornate old cemeteries.

R79 My dad and I also visited the Sleepy Hollow cemetery and the "Headless Horseman bridge" a few years ago while I was living in New York. He came to visit and we decided to rent a car and drive to Vermont. Our first stop was Tarrytown. We also roamed the cemetery and visited Washington Irving's grave. It's a gorgeous cemetery.

Fun fact: This was released on November 19, 1999, the last entirely odd date that any of us will see in our lifetimes (11/19/1999).

It was nothing if not entirely odd, [R81].

The film was fine, though it does lag towards the end, and there was too much unnecessary gore. I agree that From Hell was the superior film, though it would have been much better if Heather Graham's part had been played by someone capable of looking and sounding like a 19th Century cockney whore. Now that I think of it, Bonham-Carter might have been an interesting choice . . .

I would have been perfect for that role, if not too young. R83

Indeed, you were a mere slip of a girl back then, Frau Douglas.

I liked it.

[Quote] The murder of the little boy is downright grim though

Fuck I forgot about that scene. Poor little guy sees his mother's dead eyes looking at him through the slit 😧

I liked it too. This, and "Don Juan Demarco" were Depp's best, most endearing performances. He was good in "Edward Scissorhands" too, but "Don Juan" was Depp at his most disarming....