Word: tale
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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...
...simple three-main-character plot gives way to a convoluted collection of Van Tassles and other conniving townspeople who sustain an even more convoluted chain of mysterious events for the investigative Ichabod to logically piece together. More of a saga and certainly scarier and gorier than the original tale, the film version maintains an oddly light-hearted tone. Flashes of squeamishness from Ichabod, absurd puns and other silly touches remind the audience that its all in good...
...plot diverges markedly from the original, but one of the most notable differences from Irving's tale, and one that seems to yield further plot divergence, comes with Burton's casting of Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane. The gawky schoolteaching Ichabod of the novel and cartoon becomes an incredibly attractive, law-practicing heartthrob. This Ichabod, as opposed to the weird-looking schlepp in the book, is squeamish but admirable, cowardly but endearing. And while he tries his hardest to temper his hunkiness by acting nevous and jumpy (which definitely elicits some giggles), Johnny can't help but be adorable. Depp...
...consequences are so relentlessly gory that even the trees bleed. If only to let the blood flow longer and more freely (even in one gratuitous scene, from the implied decapitation of a little boy), this version of Sleepy Hollow expands significantly and more disturbingly on the original. Irving's tale becomes entwined in a complicated plot of greed and corruption, a horrifying subplot explaining the psychological warping of Ichabod, and several impressive fight scenes in which the decapitations have an especially martial flare. (Star Wars fans may notice similarities between the headless sword-wielding skills and the light saber moves...
...woman eating it concentrates hard on finishing. As we turn the corner onto Mt. Auburn Street, one of the girls gets distracted by the Lowell House bell tower. "Who do they keep there?" she asks. "A princess," replies her young companion. The sight of a pigeon interrupts their fairy-tale musings. "Pigeon poop! Pigeon poop!" they sing...