Paramount hasn’t been known to create terribly comprehensive DVD presentations, but they take a big step in the right direction with the disc for Tim Burton’s hit reimagining of the Washington Irving story. At first glance, Sleey Hollow appears to be more of the same; the same silent, static menus greet the viewer once the disc is initially popped in. But hop on over to the “Special Features” menu, and the collection of extras is deserving of such a classification. Both the theatrical teaser and trailer are included, as well as an interesting making-of program (that was obviously made for pay cable) and a collection of cast and crew interviews. While interview features on discs are typically presented in individual, isolated segments and derive from on-set talks taken from the film’s electronic press kit (and usually overlapping with a making-of feature), this one takes a different approach. The interviews are taken from the film’s press junket–meaning the participants have a familiarity with the finished product–and are smoothly edited together into a tidy featurette. Additional features are a bit disappointing: a stills gallery is a nice idea, but it would’ve been nice had they offered more than press kit photos and included some behind-the-scenes production images and even sketches; and Burton isn’t quite as energetic and lively on his running commentary as he is in the documentary pieces. All in all, though,a handsome digital treatment for a worthy film.
