Sleepy Hollow (1999) ***
For Sleepy Hollow (1999), Tim Burton combined his love of Hammer Horror, Mario Bava's Black Sunday (1960), and Disney's The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr. Toad (1949) to create an interesting, if flawed, film. I've seen SH a number of times, including in its original theatrical run and it always surprises me how well the first half plays out, only to run out of steam somewhere in the second.
The film is indeed a lot of fun at times, chock-full of Grand Guignol gore (gotta love those beheadings), the beautiful cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki, impressive large-scale set pieces enshrouded in plenty of fog, and strong (sometimes campy, but appropriately so) performances from a great cast. The production design, costumes, and supernatural atmosphere—all wonderful and top notch.
But it's also hampered by some decidedly weak moments and (thankfully sparing) reliance on goofy CGI and it drags on too long. I'm not personally a fan of the over-choreographed, modern-looking fight scenes, and the ending devolves into a typical Hollywood action-fest with too many cuts and far too much headache-inducing lightning flashes.
According to Wikipedia, "Initially, Lubezki and Burton contemplated shooting the film in black and white, and in old square Academy ratio." That would have been a treat to see—B&W worked well for Burton's earlier Ed Wood (1994), one of his best films—but as it is, SH is a good movie that I enjoy with tempered expectations.
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