Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinema Cinem 184 THE UNKNOWN module 12 Film SLEEPY HOLLOW Is it really a place as quiet as its name...? BEFORE VIEWING file 12 a. What type of film do you expect from this poster? Why? b. From the stars mentioned and the original story you have read, what role do you think each one plays in the film? c. Discuss what you think is the meaning of the phrase HEADS WILL ROLL on the poster. A synopsis Production: USA 1999 Director: Tim Burton Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Walken This difficult-to-classify film with its mixture of horror, fantasy, the paranormal and even black comedy won 2 Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2000: Best Art Direction and Best Set Decoration. It also received Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design. Including its Oscar awards and nominations, Sleepy Hollows has received 22 awards and 27 nominations from various film organisations such as the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, the American Society of Cinematographers and the Golden Satellite Awards. The classic story of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow provides a very loosely-interpreted basis for Gothic/horror film director Tim Burton s 1999 Sleepy Hollow. In 1799, handsome young New York Police Constable Ichabod Crane arrives in the village of Sleepy Hollow to solve a series of murders by decapitation. The local people believe the culprit is the legendary Headless Horseman; however Ichabod a firm believer in logic and scientific enquiry who has even invented his own instruments for forensic investigation refuses to accept the idea until a villager is decapitated right before his eyes. With the help of the lovely but mysterious Katrina and young Masbeth (the orphaned son of one of the victims), Ichabod discovers the terrible truth: Katrina s beautiful stepmother is an evil witch who has stolen the Horseman s skull in order to keep him in her power. She has called him back from Hell to murder everyone, Katrina included, who would stop her from inheriting all of Katrina s father s riches. Will Ichabod save his beloved young lady from the Headless Horseman s sword? Will he defeat the Horseman and Katrina s evil stepmother? Will he win Katrina away from his rival in love Brom Bones, in the end? You don t really need to see the film to answer these questions, of course but you can have a lot of fun, thrills and chills in finding out how our hero manages to reach the film s happy ending.