Sleepy Hollow
OVERALL:
ASPECT RATIO(S)
16x9 Widescreen (1.85:1)
FEATURES
STUDIO
RECOMMENDATION
- Audio Commentary with Tim Burton
- "Behind the Legend" Featurette
- Cast & Crew Interviews
- Photo Gallery
- 2 Theatrical Trailers
- Cast Biographies
Paramount
Buy it!
GRADING SCALE
Film 
Features
Audio
Video
Like most Burton films, the characters are secondary and the plot is a little thin. It's a muddled mix of conspiracy and why the headless horseman attacks. Depp is strong in the lead, as we was in ED WOOD. He plays Crane to perfection. He's just as spooked and nervous as the cartoon character. Just see if you can count how many times he faints.
Burton was none to pleased when his movie got an R rating. I can see why it did get that rating. There are heads flying around like crazy. And there is plenty of blood. SLEEPY HOLLOW is not only great to look at, but it is a terrific horror movie. Combine that with Burton's imagination, and what you've got is a very good film.
Features
It's extremely rare that you'll get a special edition from the folks at Paramount. Aside from this release (their most featured), THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER is the only other film to have garnered special edition treatment. I'm glad they gave this film that treatment.
The 30-minute featurette covers all aspects of the film. Still, it does pop in alot of scenes, so there is a bit of fluff, but it's still worth a look. The interviews are another thing. They are mostly "he's great to work with" type of comments. The commentary by Burton is okay. If you want to hear a better one, give PEE-WEE a listen. The only thing lacking from this dvd are the menus. Paramount gives this their usual lame menu screens. They could have really come up with some cool stuff for this dvd, but it's not to be. In all, however, it's a nice package. Hopefully, we'll get more SE's from these guys.
Audio
Not aggressive, but not subtle either. It's just right. Nothing stands out because everything sounds great. The bass is only awake when the horseman is out riding. Same goes for the surrounds. But there isn't anthing wrong with this 5.1 mix. It's just right. And that's what matters.
Video
The beautiful cinematography looks great on dvd. Parts of the picture are hazy and gray, but that's intended. There's only a few seconds of grain. The rest of the film is flawless. It seems more time was put in the transfer than the sound mix, which makes sense. This movie is one that commands the eyes more than the ears. Excellent eye-candy, and anamorphic too.
Overall
Buy, buy, buy!!!