SLEEPY HOLLOW

Director: Tim Burton

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson

A pioneering criminal investigator visits a town being terrorized by a headless axeman.

Tim Burton’s Grand Guignol blend of bloodthirsty American folklore and Hammer gothic, isn’t a complete success, but is nevertheless thoroughly entertaining, and a fine addition to the director’s eclectic collection. It’s a movie that walks a fine line, compelling and thrilling as often as not, but there are numerous elements that jar enough to prevent the imagination taking flight.

Pathé’s disc is an outstanding presentation. The film shines in widescreen (1.85:1) ratio, enhanced for 16:9 sets, and the 5.1sound mix – particularly Danny Elfman’s thunderous score - is completely enveloping. The disc contains a plethora of worthwhile extras, most notably a pair of featurettes: Behind The Legend (half an hour of behind the scenes footage and special effects secrets), and Reflections on Sleepy Hollow (eleven minutes of cast and crew interviews). The disc also contains a typically mundane Burton commentary track, trailers and other text-based material. The contents of the US and UK discs are practically identical, but the UK disc comes with one element sorely missing from the US disc: beautifully designed animated menus.