The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999)

• Year: 1999
• Released: 23 Oct 1999
• Country: Canada, United States
• Adwords: 4 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0214874/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_legend_of_sleepy_hollow
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: N/A
• Genre: Adventure, Horror, Mystery
• Runtime: 105 min
• Writer: Washington Irving, Joe Wiesenfeld
• Director: Pierre Gang
• Cast: Brent Carver, Rachelle Lefevre, Vlasta Vrana
• Keywords: legend, village, greed, marriage, leave, falling in love,

5.1/10

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Movie Reviews

Katrina should have been the main character

There seem to be two opinion camps when it comes to this movie. Either you haven’t read the original story and love Tim Burton’s hot mess, or you love how close this is to the original but acknowledge it’s pretty slow. I obviously am in the second group. This is actually a tie for my favorite version, along with the Jeff Goldblum one, mainly because I think Goldblum is the absolutely best Ichabod. But with that version, you get super kitschy, hyper seventies.

I would love to see the original script for this version. This writer worked on the 1985 Anne of Green Gables and this production is very close to that vibe, albeit with a much smaller budget. I love the more accurately historical atmosphere they are going for. Also the scenery, the costumes, and casting are excellent. I love the idea of opening the movie with the group in the tavern passing on the story to Washington Irving. That part is straight out of the Shire in the LOTR movies. My quibble is that I just get the feeling Katrina was supposed to be more of the lead and Brom was to be more of a romantic hero. But either the director or the suits said “No no no! Ichabod has to be the main character. And also this can’t be remotely scary to children.” Changes were made. And it really hurt the movie.

True to the original, this Ichabod is a pompous fool, a satire, and you’re supposed to be happy he gets what’s coming. Brent Carver is playing that guy exactly and he’s really good at it. Unfortunately most of the satire and comedy has been dulled, and you’re left with this unsympathetic guy as your main focus. To top it off, the director or editing has unfortunately left us with zero suspense and creep factor to energize the audience.

I do love the how Rachelle Lefevre as Katrina actually seems like a girl in her late teens and Brom not much older. In many other versions, they’re way too old. I love that we get real character actors in all the other rolls as opposed to slick Hollywood/Hallmark Channel types. I feel that this movie wants so much for Katrina to be more of a main character. We need more of how she’s ready for marriage and frustrated that Brom won’t settle down and stop carousing. She’s momentarily interested in Ichabod but quickly figures him out, but then use him to make Brom jealous. She’s the sympathetic, likable character the story is missing as an anchor. I’m not talking making this into a chick flick. Just very few tweaks. Also maybe slightly more time emphasizing how the locals are infecting superstitious, neurotic Ichabod’s head with tales of the Horseman, and then Brom noticing and using it as his advantage for playing his pranks. You also could develop Brom just a bit more since you do really do instantly like him when he meets Ichabod. He’s capable at his job and sizes Ichabod up instantly. He’s just immature. Then his jealousy drives him to finally grow up and get married. The movie really sets you up to be satisfied when Katrina gets her happily ever after.

The bones are all there for a great version of this legend. But again, it just seems like someone insisted the focus had to be all on comic villain Ichabod and diminish everything else, including the idea this is supposed to be a little scary with a dramatic ending. I live in hope someday, someone will make the definitive version. Until then, I still love watching this every Halloween.

Most authentic version I’ve seen!

Being a precocious child, I actually READ “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” before seeing any of the movie versions, and it quickly became my favorite Halloween story. The very first film adaptation I saw was the 1949 Bing Crosby version, which, being Disney, is perfect for children and even stays closer to the original than most Disney films tend to do, surprisingly. The 1980 Jeff Goldblum version is NOWHERE near to the original, either in its casting or setting, and of course the Johnny Depp version is Tim Burton’s story, not Washington Irving’s. THIS version, however, is close to spot-on! Some of the lines are even directly from Irving! Brent Carver is a perfect Ichabod, a protagonist who is our “hero” but also conceited and slightly deluded; and Rachelle Lefevre is a charming Katrina, the picture of a young Dutch heiress. Their love triangle is completed by Paul Lemelin playing Brom, the foil to Ichabod: young and athletic while Crane is middle-aged and bookish, the hunk while Crane looks like an actual crane! The only aspect in which this version deviates from the source is that this Katrina seems legitimately interested in Ichabod, whereas the original story makes it quite clear she is only using him to make the carefree Brom jealous and encourage him to settle down with her. I was pleased to see this version included Ichabod daydreaming about becoming master of Van Tassel farm (which reveals his true interest in Katrina) and even the classic ambivalent ending which leaves the dual possibilities of there actually being a ghost or just Brom playing yet another prank. These two possibilities are both presented in the book, yet most film versions ignore that. As someone who teaches “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to middle schoolers and used to follow it up with the Bing Crosby version, this is now my preferred version!

Not too bad….

Fairly close adaptation of the Irving story, except for giving Katrina a personality, and Brom a sense of wanderlust, so if you liked the cartoon version or the Tim Burton movie, this one may not be for you. The cast is a bunch of people I’ve never heard of, but they’re not bad, and the guy playing Crane is actually quite good-you’re not SUPPOSED to like the character, so his annoying ways are true to the tale. I do wish that the actor playing Brom Bones was a bit more of a hellion-this guy is a bit too much the young, handsome, and high school jock type. The pacing is a bit slow, the costumes rather much like a high school drama club production (ladies of that time would not have worn pinner aprons everywhere, especially not to church-people then would have reacted to that the same way people now would react to you attending church in your bedroom slippers), and everything is a bit too anachronistic in its cleanliness and shinyness, but it’s not terrible. One for the whole family, even the littles. A cut above ordinary due to the actors playing Crane and Mynheer Van Tassel, so six stars.