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twistedtummies2 · 2 years

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Top 6 Versions of Sleepy Hollow

Due to a mixture of recent events and the Halloween Season (I don’t know about you all, but it started almost a month ago for me), I’ve been on something of a kick lately for one of my favorite classic spooky stories: Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” For those who don’t know, the basic story goes like this: a schoolteacher named Ichabod Crane travels to a town in New York, called Sleepy Hollow (which is a real place, for the record), and has a series of adventures as he tries to woo a wealthy young lady - Katrina Van Tassel - and matches wits with his rival - the town prankster, Brom Bones. At the climax, Ichabod is attacked by a mysterious ghost known as the Headless Horseman. He ultimately vanishes without a trace, his fate left ambiguous.

I’ve loved this story ever since I was very small: I used to tell it to children in schools, and for me, no Halloween is complete without seeing at least one version of the tale on that date (along with Hocus Pocus, but that’s another story). Recently, I’ve been revisiting several versions, so I thought it would be fun - with October fast approaching - to share some of my personal favorite renditions. Now, I’m not talking about different editions of the book itself, with different illustrators and varying edits to the text. I’m talking adaptations for film, TV, theatre, and so on. So expect those sorts of things here. There’s not much else to say, so let’s get right into it: these are My Top 6 Favorite Versions of Sleepy Hollow!

6. Tarrytown.

This musical is actually the reason I wanted to make this a Top 6 to begin with, because I felt it would be a crime not to mention it here. Created by Adam Wachter, “Tarrytown” is a musical reimagining of the Sleepy Hollow story. There’s actually been a couple of attempts at creating a proper, full-blown musical based on Sleepy Hollow, but Wachter’s, in my opinion, is the most unique and intriguing. The plot of the musical essentially makes two big twists to the story: first of all, it takes place in the modern day, rather than the late 1700s. Second of all, instead of wanting the love of Katrina, Ichabod instead wants the love…of Brom Bones. Yes, Ichabod is a homosexual in this story. Brom and Katrina are already married, but their marriage has become an increasingly unhappy one. Ichabod, realizing this, and wanting Brom for himself, drives a wedge between them to try and force them apart for good. Brom - while ambiguous in his own sexuality - is ultimately still very much in love with Katrina. Brom wants to salvage the marriage, thus leading to the conflict that results in Ichabod’s fateful encounter with the Headless Horseman. Just like in the original book, none of the three main characters are really perfect people. None of them are purely awful, but they all have their own vices and faults. It’s a tantalizing modern reinterpretation. Unfortunately, I’ve never actually SEEN this musical, which is why it ranks so low: all I have to judge are a plotline written up on the show’s official webpage, and the recent Studio Cast Recording. The Cast Recording stars Andy Mientus as Ichabod, Krysta Rodriguez as Katrina, and Jeremy Jordan as Brom: all three are brilliant performers I absolutely adore, and they each play their parts perfectly. If nothing else, listen to that soundtrack: it’s more than worth it.

5. The FOX TV Series.

I only recently got back to revisiting this series, and while it’s not perfect, I actually do find I like it more in returning to it than I probably did when I first checked it out. Heavily influenced by the Tim Burton film version (more on that later), the FOX TV series “Sleepy Hollow” is a supernatural crime drama, similar to shows like “Lucifer” or “Supernatural.” In this version, Ichabod Crane is not a selfish schoolteacher, but a dashing Revolutionary War hero. After a battle with a monstrous soldier - who becomes the Headless Horseman - Ichabod is seemingly slain…but his wife, Katrina - a witch - casts a spell that causes him to reawaken in the modern day. Working as a consultant to the local police department, Ichabod tackles strange crime in the area, battling wicked witches, warmongering demons…and, of course, the Headless Horseman. While the show and its interpretations of the main characters from the story only bear the slightest of resemblances to Irving’s classic legend, I love the actors and the different story arcs the characters have. Tom Mison as Ichabod, himself, is particularly impressive. His physical appearance manages to both call the character of the book to mind while matching the basic vision of a charming war hero, and while his character is very different from the character in the story, he does bring a sort of energy to it that reminds one of the spindly schoolmaster’s many quirks in other adaptations, all while still having his own unique handle on the part. Altogether, the show is a crazy ride, but it’s one I’m happy to take.

4. The Hallmark Production.

Once upon a time, this version actually ranked more highly for me, but over time, I’ve seen more and more of its flaws. Having said that, it’s still an extremely worthy adaptation. Released in 1999, no doubt capitalizing on the hype around Tim Burton’s movie that same year (again, more on that later), this TV film production is basically just a straightforward adaptation of the original story, stretched out to fit a feature length. It doesn’t really change much from the original tale, unlike a lot of other “long” versions of the story, but simply expands on different things brought up in the book to create its plot. Like I said, this one DOES have some issues: the pace drags in a couple of places (though not especially badly; trust me, I’ve seen far worse), and it’s not really all that scary when the dark stuff comes up (partially due to the fact the Horseman is deliberately imagined as a more benign specter than in almost any other version), but it’s still got a great sense of atmosphere and some fine performances. Once again, chief among them is our Ichabod: the character is played by Broadway actor Brent Carver. In my opinion, Carver is the definitive Ichabod Crane: when I think of Ichabod, it’s Carver’s version I think of above all else. Out of the six renditions here, he simply looks, sounds, and all around FEELS the closest to how I, personally, imagined Ichabod Crane when reading the story. Carver almost singlehandedly makes this version as good as it is, and more than worthy of high placement.

3. Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.

Once upon a time, I actually really, REALLY disliked this movie. Nowadays, I’ve softened up to it considerably: I now consider it an underappreciated masterpiece, the very definition of a cult classic. This is mostly because, back then, I didn’t really UNDERSTAND the film; nowadays, I do, and it has given me a whole new appreciation for what the movie wanted to accomplish. Arguably one of the most influential versions of the story, Tim Burton’s 1999 blockbuster is a drastic reimagining of the tale: in this movie, Ichabod Crane (played by Johnny Depp, because of course he is) is a detective, not a schoolmaster, who comes to Sleepy Hollow to solve a series of murders. At first, he believes they are the work of a mortal serial killer simply emulating the legendary Headless Horseman, but he ultimately comes to learn that the ghost is VERY real. With this in mind, Ichabod then changes course to try and determine why the spirit of the Horseman is committing these crimes, and thus uncovers a dark conspiracy at work in Sleepy Hollow. The movie is designed to be, in just about every respect, a Hammer Horror film. It is not simply an homage to those films, but in many ways, it feels EXACTLY like a Hammer Horror film made in the late 90s…just without Hammer’s brand name. Everything about this film - from the performances, to the aesthetic style, to the writing, and even to elements of Danny Elfman’s musical score - all feel precisely how I would imagine a Hammer version of Sleepy Hollow might have been like. And as I’ve come to adore Hammer Horror over the years, I appreciate the film more than I ever did before. I have also come to appreciate that, while the movie radically reinvents the legend, it also keep a lot of elements from the original story, and even references the Disney version, of all things, in a few places. It is a brilliant reinvention of a timeless classic, and deserves all the credit it gets, and possibly more. Ultimately, the only reason it isn’t higher is that I like the original story more. Plain and simple.

2. The Rabbit Ears Production.

This is quite possibly the most obscure entry on the list, but it deserves its upper-tier rank. Rabbit Ears was a company that produced a series of children’s books retelling various classic stories. The books alone were amazing, but this wasn’t the best part. Rabbit Ears also created a series of audio cassettes (yeah, remember those?) of professional readings of the stories featuring major celebrity actors. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! The company ALSO provided DVD and VHS videos that essentially “animated” the illustrations of the books, with the professional readings as the soundtrack; these were sometimes aired on T.V., too. The animated shorts were low budget – basically just literal moving illustrations, as I said – but the series was extremely popular. Their version of Sleepy Hollow was nominated for several awards, including a Grammy, and actually won a couple! And by God, you can see why. What makes this version so wonderful, in every way, comes down to one word and one word only: ATMOSPHERE. This production is DRIPPING with atmosphere. More so than any other Rabbit Ear production, and, in fact, more than ANY version of Sleepy Hollow. That’s right, ANY version of Sleepy Hollow; even our number one spot can’t quite top it on the atmosphere spectrum! It is narrated beautifully by Glenn Close, whose voice lends a truly haunting and even mystical quality to the whole thing. Credit must also be given to Robert Van Nutt's illustrations. Even though the animation is minimalistic, the actual images are so breathtaking, and so drenched in the style of an old New England storybook, it lends even more weight to an already heavy work. And then there’s the music. Oh. God. The. MUSIC! Composed by Tim Story, this is frankly some of the most beautiful, breathtaking music I have EVER heard in connection to the tale. From LITERALLY THE FIRST FEW NOTES, it immediately grabs your attention, and immerses you in the haunting world of Sleepy Hollow. Quite simply, this is perhaps the most artistically beautiful take on the story out there. It seems to sort of be off-and-on YouTube, so if you’re lucky, you can find it for viewing there. Or you can purchase the DVD off Rabbit Ears’ website: your choice.

1. The Disney Version.

Alongside Tim Burton’s version of the tale, Disney’s take on Sleepy Hollow is probably the most well-known and influential. And to be honest, I’m more than okay with that. Narrated and with music performed by the immortal Bing Crosby, Disney’s version is essentially an animated pantomime of the original tale. What I love most about this version, as an adult, is how it handles the source material. You would expect Disney to change a lot of the story and characters, but surprisingly, this is one of the most book-accurate versions on the list. Most of Crosby’s narration is either directly quoted or paraphrased from Irving’s story, and the three main characters are not greatly changed from their original versions. No one of the three - Ichabod, Katrina, and Brom - is made out to be a pure-blooded hero, and no one of the three is made out to be a purely naty baddy. They’re all bad in their own ways, and good in their own ways. It’s kind of amazing to see Disney take such a sincere stab at things. At the same time, they do make the story more cinematic, injecting slapstick cartoon antics and creating a rip-roaring climax that might be one of the greatest finales to any Disney animated short of all time. The songs, though few in number, are all very fun and highly catchy: I still hum and whistle them to myself from time to time, regardless of the year. And, as you would expect, the animation is top notch. The short initially was released as part of the package feature “The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad,” where it was preceded by a short film version of “The Wind in the Willows,” narrated by Basil Rathbone. However, you can also find the short on its own, if you look around, or just skip to that part in the feature; it doesn’t affect much to do that. However you choose to watch it, it is a true masterpiece, just as classic as the story that spawned it. Without a shadow of a doubt, this is My Favorite Version of Sleepy Hollow.

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