BLU-RAY REVIEW

Sleepy Hollow

Featured In Issue 112, September 2006

Picture4
Sound4
WSR Score
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Paramount Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
118194
(MPAA Rating):
R
(Rating Reason):
For graphic horror violence and gore, and for a scene of sexuality.
(Retail Price):
$29.95
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (HD-30)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
105
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
1
(Theatrical Year):
1999
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
07/25/06
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Tim Burton
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
Dolby Digital+ 5.1, DTS 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

Johnny Depp is Constable Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, Tim Burton's vision of Washington Irving's classic tale. In this adaptation, Crane is a New York City detective with unusual methods of investigation. He is sent to the small town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of grisly murders where the victims have all lost their heads. Crane is enamored with Katarina Van Tassel (Ricci), a beautiful young woman who may have some secret knowledge of a supernatural explanation. Nominated for three Academy Awards® including cinematography and costume design, this visually exciting film won an Oscar® for Art Direction/Set Direction (Rick Heinrichs and Peter Young).

Includes audio commentary by Director Tim Burton, a 30-minute making-of featurette, almost 12 minutes behind the scenes with the cast & crew, a teaser and theatrical trailer, and previews.

The stylized 1.85:1 VC-1-encoded HD DVD picture features a very dark, desaturated look, with deep blacks and a grainy presence that matches the storyline nicely. Detail is impressive, even in the darkest scenes, with very good shadow delineation. Fleshtones are given a washed-out, pallid hue, which also, when combined with the desaturated colors, gives a sickly impression that works well with the story.(Danny Richelieu)

With its somewhat underwhelming surround soundstaging, the Dolby® Digital Plus- and DTS® Digital Surround™-encoded soundtrack does not deliver the sense of realism that some of the better mixes will provide. Fidelity is pristine in both tracks, although it is improved noticeably so in the Dolby Digital Plus encoding. The DTS track has an edginess to the presentation that hinders its believability. Danny Elfman's well-recorded, and perfectly appropriate music score is the standout of this release. (Danny Richelieu)