Word: setting
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Washington Irving's classic ghost story of the Headless Horseman provides merely a jumping off point for Burtons dark imaginings. For those who have not read the book or watched the Disney cartoon, the traditional tale is set in Sleepy Hollow, a small New York suburb, in 1799. A headless horseman haunts the outskirts of the town and chops off people's heads in revenge for having lost his own --or so goes the rumor in town. When lanky, schoolteaching Ichabod Crane comes to town, alienating the locals with his intellectual pretentiousness, he scoffs at the legend and further ruffles...
...movies greatest strength is its cinematography. With pale men squeezed into 18th century black suits and a perpetual mist clouding the nights sky, this film is shot in color; it just feels black and white. Filmed at an artificial set in a small town in England, Sleepy Hollow is overwhelmingly gray. It takes some getting used to, as all of Burtons fantasies do, but after about ten minutes of acclimation, the setting takes shape, and you come to appreciate the brilliant construction of the town and the landscape. Corn fields shrink in the shadow of freaky-looking scarecrows...
...best to put a techno beat under the whole picture. The whole thing is ultimately too souped up for its own good; perhaps a strange complaint for a Bond film, but there's a fine line between class and crass. It almost seems as though James Bond himself is set at odds with his style of movie-making. 007 is a man of simple pleasures and simple motivations; get the girl, save the world. Sure, he uses expensive gadgets and blows up expensive things, but these are just tools of his imperturbable savoir faire, proof that he has no compunction...
...fans into an uproar. Burton also removed the Robin character, choosing instead to focus on the intense psychological make-up of Batman and his foe, the Joker (Jack Nicholson in one of his best roles). Once again, Burton's strong adherence to his own vision paid off, as Batman set box office records that were not to be surpassed until the release of another Burton film three years later --Batman Returns...
...Edward Scissorhands was the first in a trio of Burton's films to be set at Christmastime. It enjoyed moderate success, and remains the most earnest work in Burton's canon. It also forged a relationship between Burton and Johnny Depp, which would eventually lead to their working together on Ed Wood and, ultimately, Sleepy Hollow. In 1992, Burton returned to the familiar Batworld to direct Batman Returns. The story, focusing on Batman's struggle against both the Penguin and Catwoman, starred Keaton again, as well as Danny Devito and Michelle Pfeiffer in the respective villain roles. Though successful...