31 movies to watch in October: Sleepy Hollow from Tim Burton

We are continuing on with my list of 31 movies recommended for October with Sleepy Hollow. Remember, not all of these films are Halloween-related, but there is something about all of them that puts me in the spirit of the season.

For October 1,  we watched the Tim Burton-created The Nightmare Before Christmas in order to start things off a bit slowly. Today’s choice was directed by Burton, and also includes music by Danny Elfman. That’s right, it’s 1999’s Sleepy Hollow.

Irving’s short story was included in a book first published in 1820 and has long been a part of the Halloween season. The Headless Horseman was believed to be a Hessian soldier who had been beheaded in battle. Most adaptations of the story include a head that looks like a Jack O’ Lantern, which is what ties it in with Halloween.

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The script differs a bit from Washington Irving’s original story, with Johnny Depp playing Ichabod Crane as a police constable (he was a teacher in the original story) sent to the small village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate some decapitation murders.

While working on the case, Crane finds that the townspeople believe the murders were committed by a mysterious Headless Horseman.

Dark, moody and bloodier than the source material, Sleepy Hollow is classic Tim Burton, with Johnny Depp describing his portrayal of Ichabod Crane as that of a “frightened little girl.” Other notable actors involved in the film were Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Lee, Martin Landau, and Christopher Walken.

Burton’s love for the Hammer films produced in the ’50s through the ’60s greatly influenced the look and feel of the production design of Sleepy Hollow. Many of the set pieces were miniatures, but there was also a 60-foot forced-perspective windmill built, and Burton chose to rely as little as possible on digital effects.

Originally, the director toyed with the idea of filming Sleepy Hollow in black and white but instead ended up using a nearly monochromatic effect. The result is a creepy, haunted look, enhanced with smoke and spectacular sets, all of which make this a perfect Halloween movie.

Where to watch: Amazon Prime, Epix, Hulu, and available to rent from digital retailers like iTunes, Vudu, etc.

How do you feel about the first two movies suggested in this series? Do you love Sleepy Hollow? Will you make them a part of your Halloween viewing activities? Let us know in the comments section.