Line #24 Trivia/SleepyHollow1999


1	* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/JohnnyDepp chose to make Ichabod even more delicate and fragile, citing his inspiration as Creator/AngelaLansbury's performance in the 1978 adaptation of ''Literature/DeathOnTheNile''. He also took inspiration from Creator/BasilRathbone and Creator/RoddyMcDowall.
2	* ActorSharedBackground: The Horseman was formerly a Hessian mercenary, who were German soldiers that served as auxiliaries in the British army. Christopher Walken actually is half-German on his mother's side.
3	* AllStarCast: The film has a number of recognizable actors in film and television. Besides the director (Creator/TimBurton), you have Creator/JohnnyDepp, Creator/ChristinaRicci, Creator/ChristopherWalken, Creator/MichaelGambon, Creator/MichaelGough, Creator/RichardGriffiths, Creator/ChristopherLee, Creator/MartinLandau, Creator/JeffreyJones, Creator/CasperVanDien and Creator/IanMcDiarmid among the cast.
4	* AwesomeDearBoy: Tim Burton was attracted to the project because he'd never done a horror film before, and "those are the kind of movies I like probably more than any other genre".
5	* CaliforniaDoubling: Despite the New York setting, filming was done entirely in England. While most of it was done on sound stages, location shooting was done in Hambledon, Buckinghamshire. Some re-shoots were however done in New York.
6	* TheCastShowOff: Creator/CasperVanDien gets to show off how good he is on a horse.
7	* CreatorBacklash: A variation. Creator/JohnnyDepp has never seen the film because he hates the way he acts in it.
8	* CreatorCouple: Creator/TimBurton's then-wife Lisa Marie plays Lady Crane in Ichabod's dream sequences.
9	* DuelingWorks: With the ''Series/HallmarkHallOfFame'' MadeForTVMovie ''Film/{{The Legend of Sleepy Hollow\|1999}}'', which aired on TV the same year (1999). The TV movie is TruerToTheText, but critics and audiences favored the Creator/TimBurton movie. The Burton movie also had the largest audience to begin with and predictably left the biggest cultural mark.
10	* DyeingForYourArt: Casper Van Dien gained 30 pounds to play Brom.
11	* EnforcedMethodActing: According to the [[DVDCommentary director's commentary]] on the DVD, during the scene in the church where Doctor Lancaster is killed by a blow to the head, they accidentally hit Creator/IanMcDiarmid so hard that he ended up having to go to the hospital.
12	* FakeAmerican: The British Creator/MirandaRichardson dons an American accent as Lady Van Tassell. As does British actress Jessica Oyelowo as the serving girl Sarah.
13	* FakeBrit:
14	** Creator/JohnnyDepp affects a British accent as Ichabod Crane. Likewise, Creator/ChristinaRicci puts on an accent for Katrina van Tassel.
15	** Scotsman Ian [=McDiarmid=] affects an English accent for Dr Lancaster. As does Irish actor Michael Gambon.
16	* IronyAsSheIsCast: Creator/ChristopherWalken did not reveal until after he had been cast as the Headless ''Horse''man, that he didn't know how to ride a horse.
17	* MissingTrailerScene: Additional lines between Katrina and Ichabod about the witch in the western woods appear in the trailer but not the film.
18	* NoStuntDouble: Creator/JohnnyDepp did the final sequence in the woods without a double, wearing bullet proof clothing under his costume.
19	* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/ChristinaRicci, known as EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette [[Film/TheAddamsFamily Wednesday Addams]], plays [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold golden-haired]] [[TheIngenue ingenue]] Katrina. Given Ricci's type, it's a bit of a mystery whether or not Katrina is a BitchInSheepsClothing. [[spoiler:She isn't.]]
20	* PlayingTheirOwnTwin: [[spoiler:Creator/MirandaRichardson plays both Lady Van Tassel and her twin sister, the witch in the Western Woods.]]
21	* ProductionPosse: Johnny Depp's third collaboration with Tim Burton. Likewise Creator/JeffreyJones had worked with Burton in ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' and ''Film/EdWood''. Martin Landau had starred in that as well. Michael Gough of course had worked on the ''Batman'' films. Almost the entire design team from ''Film/{{Batman 1989}}'' was recruited for ''Sleepy Hollow'' too.
22	* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: The film sat on the shelf for most of the 90s because studios "never really saw it as a commercial movie", according to producer Adam Schroeder. It wasn't until the success of ''{{Film/Scream 1996}}'', ''Film/TheCraft'', ''Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'' and others that horror was considered commercially viable, and it was greenlit in 1998.
23	* SparedByTheCut: In one draft of the script, Ichabod blackmails Reverend Steenwyck into resigning due to his obstructive nature (which is dialed up in the script), and consequently, Steenwyck doesn't kill Dr. Lancaster and then get shot himself.
24	* StuntCasting:
25	** Creator/MartinLandau is given a cameo at the start as Peter van Garrett - the Horseman's first victim.
26	** Creator/ChristopherLee and Creator/MichaelGough were cast as the Burgomaster and Notary Hardenbrook because Creator/TimBurton wanted to homage Film/HammerHorror. The latter was coaxed out of retirement for the part.
27	* ThrowItIn:
28	** Lady Van Tassell's "watch your head" was an ad-lib by Creator/MirandaRichardson.
29	** The comedy bit where Ichabod is scared by a spider was thrown in because "every day there was a guy there with bugs", so they decided to use them.
30	* UncreditedRole:
31	** Creator/TomStoppard was an uncredited script doctor on the screenplay.
32	** Creator/MartinLandau as Peter Van Garrett.
33	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
34	** Creator/DanielDayLewis, Creator/LiamNeeson, and Creator/BradPitt were considered for Ichabod Crane. This was merely a formality requested by Paramount, as Johnny Depp was always the first choice for the role.
35	** Creator/JohnnyDepp wanted to add prosthetics to his face to make Ichabod more unattractive, in line with his book counterpart. Burton decided against it, feeling Ichabod's personality quirks were what made him unattractive.
36	** Creator/WinonaRyder was offered the part of Katrina, which would have reunited her and Depp from ''Film/EdwardScissorhands''. She turned it down.
37	** Creator/MarlonBrando, of all people, was the first choice to play the Hessian.
38	** The filmmakers had hoped to shoot on location in upstate New York, but the places they looked at didn't lend themselves to the expressionism they wanted.
39	** The first script had to have some of its violence toned down. Even so, it's one of Burton's goriest films.
40	** The witch in the western woods was to have a larger role. Katrina would mention her during her midnight conversation with Ichabod, and the latter would later find [[spoiler: the witch beheaded outside her home. He would deduce that she was murdered by a human killer, and then find Katrina wearing her missing necklace - further implicating Katrina as the culprit]].
41	** The final sequence was to include the Horseman being on fire, but that was scrapped because of "production problems".

Context Trivia / SleepyHollow1999