Tim Burton's film The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a great rendition of Washington Irving's short story. This movie is derived from the story of the "Headless Horseman" who is a ghost who haunts the eastern shores of the Hudson. He was apparently a Hessian soldier who had his head taken off by a cannonball in a battle during the Revolutionary War. He is said to be seen riding his horse late at night in search of his lost head. The horseman rides very quickly to ensure he is back before sunrise. Burton makes some changes in his film, compared to the original version by Washington Irving. One case is that of the main character, Ichabod Crane, who in the original story was a school teacher. He is described as very tall and skinny with long hands and legs. This fits well with his last name, Crane, which is a type of bird that is very lanky and tall. But, in Tim Burton's film, Johnny Depp plays Ichabod Crane who is hired to investigate the murders of people in a certain town by the name of Sleepy Hollow. Somebody or something has been cutting off heads of various people in the town. What is intriguing though, is the fact that all of the heads to the decapitated bodies are missing. Burton wanted to add more to this story. Because of Ichabod Crane's previous endeavors in the movie, he is the perfect candidate to this chilling adventure he must pursue. His unorthodox methods help him be able to uncover the many mysteries associated with the murders in Tarry Town. At first, he is under the impression that this will be a fairly simple case and doesn't really understand why all the people haven't been able to solve these murders. Later, Ichabod finds out that the murderer is a ghost, as opposed to a human of flesh and blood. This opens up a whole new spectrum of possibilities that could happen. This is why he was chosen to investigate the murders, because of his various techniques he is able to solve problems that are not normally presented to the normal person. Burton puts aspects of himself in Ichabod Crane, as he is misunderstood by most people and also somewhat reserved and quiet. This film incorporates many aspects of Washington Irving's story, but adds many other factors that make this an extremely unique rendition of a previous work of art.
I like your points discussing the original tale of sleepy hollow compared to the retelling, it really strengthens your argument that while this new movie incorporates many themes from Washington Irving's original story, this film is an incredibly unique retelling of a previous work of literature. In all honesty, I disagree with your point that this movie is a rendition of the original tale, merely because it incorporates so many new themes. I think the way you describe Johnny Depp as well suited to the role of Ichabod Crane, if only appearance wise, is well constructed as well. Burton really changes an incredible number of details throughout the movie, to the point where more things are different than are the same compared to the original telling. All in all, Burtons retelling of this story in my opinion is completely different than the original and should hardly be considered a retelling for that matter, but otherwise is a fantastic piece of work and is incredibly scary and terrifying, with a supernatural twist that really emphasizes the horror that can come out of small towns in the middle of nowhere, and really took Irving’s story and ran with it. Noah Feltes
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