La légende de Sleepy Hollow

This version wasn't any too good. There was just nothing special about it. And what I couldn't stnad was that Ichobad was not likeable. Although Brent Carver did a good job with the acting, the character was not that of a loveable teacher, but of a snobby educated man, who looks down on people who aren't. The problem I think that a lot of people run into when they are making this film is that they are trying to expand a short story into a full length movie. I still prefer the Disney version the best. Tim Burton's version comes second.

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.

I thought this was the best of the "Sleepy Hollow" films that I've seen (incl. the Johnny Depp and Jeff Goldblum versions) at staying true to the original story (however, I really liked Tim Burton's version as well). Though I agree that the legend doesn't especially make for a tight 2-hour feature, this film, which I discovered accidentally on an obscure channel, was very entertaining. Brent Carver was awesome as Ichabod Crane, but the guy who played Brom Bones was a bit too "cutesie." A good choice for adults and children alike.

Not as good as the Disney animated version, but much superior to both the Jeff Goldblum and Johnny Depp versions. What makes any live action adaptation of Washington Irving's classic is the choice of Ichabod Crane (The Disney version is judged based on it's narrator, Bing Crosby, who's self-mocking "hip" style, carries the story). Certainly Brent Carver dominates this role from the start when we see him perched upon a hill looking like a scarecrow, it is a startling shot by the director. In the early TV film version, Jeff Goldblum certainly looked the part, but he was too dull. In Tim Burton's spoofy version Johnny Depp (a favorite of mine, especially in Tim Burton films) is just poorly cast (as was Wednesday Adams as Katrina, give me a break puleeeze!). This version is the closest to capturing the flavor of the classic short story. If you want to see Disney's Sleepy Hollow or Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow then the choice is obvious, however, if you want to see Washington Irving's Sleepy Hollow check out this obscure cable channel version.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999): Not to be confused with the marvelous Tim Burton film that was released the same year, this version (produced for Canadian television) is, at best, a tepid adaptation of Washington Irving's classic story. Unlike the Burton and little-seen Jeff Goldblum versions, which both utilized different takes on the plot, this small-budget translation literally goes by the book, yet it suffers greatly from trying to stretch out the short source material to feature length. The results are incredibly slow pacing and lack of zest throughout, right up to the unspectacular representation of the Headless Horseman. Brent Carver and Rachelle Lefevre deliver as Ichabod Crane and Katrina Van Tassel, respectively, but babyfaced Paul Lemelin is miscast in the role of roughneck Brom Bones. The film's erroneous opinion of itself states that it "captures the mystery and romance that have eluded other screen efforts." Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. 5/10