from LMA
*This script excerpt was taken from Everything Depp. *
A pleasing land of drowsy head it was, of dreams that wave before
the half shut eye...
EXT. GNARLED FOREST--NIGHT
An UGLY MAN charges through on a horse, holding a lantern forward
on a long pole. He looks back, terrified.
INSERT TITLE: 1799 Sleepy Hollow, New York
THUNDEROUS HOOFBEATS are HEARD behind.
The ugly man glances back again. His lantern swings wild...
SHATTERS against a tree. The jammed-up pole SLAMS the ugly man
off his horse...
He hits the ground. He runs, trips, falls and scrambles up.
DEEP IN THE FOREST, we glimpse the source of the HOOFBEATS: a
HUGE FORM on a HUGE BLACK HORSE, already gone
The ugly man pushes through thorny bushes. Jagged branches slit
his hands and cheeks.
He bursts from the briar patch and tumbles to a trail . He lifts
his bloodied face. He runs.
IN THE FOREST BEHIND: the hooves of the black horse rip underbrush.
HOOFBEATS DEAFENING. A spur digs into the snorting steed's already
bleeding flank.
The pursuer's gloved hand draws a SWORD, blade RINGING.
ON THE TRAIL, the ugly man runs on. The shrill WHISTLE of a SWORD
SWING is HEARD as the pursuer blurs past.
The ugly man is still running when his head lolls back, at an
impossible angle...tumbles off his shoulders... His headless body
hits the dirt.
EXT. CITY STREETS-- NIGHT
Empty cobblestone streets. Crooked buildings. A RAPIDLY CLANGING
BELL breaks the silence from afar.
INSERT TITLE: New York City
TWO CONSTABLES clamor round a corner, lanterns held high, listening.
They rush into an alleyway.
ELSEWHERE, piers border the Hudson River. The BELL is LOUDER. The two constables arrive, searching. No one around. Constable One hefts his
pistol, scared.
They hurry to the river's edge. Down a hill, the MAN, another
constable, stands with his back to us. He's waist deep in water,
tossing away his ALARM BELL.
Constable Two crosses on the pier above. Constable One moves forward, wary.
The MAN grunts, lifting something.
The MAN turns. Meet ICHABOD CRANE, handsome, eyes piercing.
He drags a bloated MALE CORPSE up from the murky water
EXT. WATCHHOUSE/JAIL --NIGHT
The elderly HIGH CONSTABLE lifts a blanket off the corpse on a
wheelbarrow manned by Constable Two. A snobby MAGISTRATE looks,
disgusted. Constable One and Ichabod wait.
Constable Two wheels the corpse inside. Ichabod's dismayed
Ichabod follows the High Constable and Magistrate in.
INT. WATCHHOUSE, NIGHT WATCH QUARTERS --NIGHT
Constable Two wheels the body ahead past many "booking"
tables. A JAILER moves to unlock a massive door.
The door is opened. The corpse again leads the way.
INT. WATCHHOUSE, JAIL --NIGHT
A two-tiered prison, alive with MOANS of AGONY and CRIES of INSANITY. Cells are full of wretched men in chains and iron gags. Many are against the
bars, watching.
The High Constable reaches a desk, taking a seat. Guards wait
to process beaten, bloody prisoners.
The Magistrate WHISPERS in the High Constable's ear. Ichabod notices
with worry that Constables One and Two wheel the corpse onwards
into another room.
The Magistrate finishes. The High Constable smiles faintly
Ichabod moves away, heading to where the corpse was taken.
The High Constable smiles a sardonic smile
INT. WATCHHOUSE, INCINERATION ROOM --NIGHT
The corpse burns in a raging furnace. Flesh sizzles
Constable One pumps bellows which fan the flames. Ichabod steps
from darkness nearby. He watches with bitter regret as the corpse
is consumed.
EXT. CITY --DAY
Market town streets bustle. Filthy. Pigs roam free.
INT. ICHABOD'S HOME, SECOND FLOOR --DAY
Decorated in Early-American Mad Scientist: books, papers and jars
of chemicals. Charts of anatomy above a small bed.
At the window, Ichabod holds a bird cage with a red CARDINAL inside.
He opens the cage. The bird flies free.
Ichabod watches it go, then looks down. A COACH halts in the street below.
The forlorn DRIVER looks up.
INT. ICHABOD'S COACH --DAY
In motion. Ichabod absently studies his hands, touching the strange
SCARS on both palms: evenly dispersed, tiny dots of tissue. Many
scars.
Ichabod lifts a LEATHER SATCHEL, checking its contents
EXT. UPSTATE FORESTS --DAY
TWO FAMILIES of MIGRANT WORKERS travel a path, leading over-burdened
horses. Ichabod's coach approaches from the other direction. Ichabod
looks out, unnerved.
One GAUNT MAN watches Ichabod pass. There is a dead, worried look
in the man's eyes. Others stare at Ichabod.
EXT. SLEEPY HOLLOW, THE LONG STRAIGHT ROAD --DAY
Ichabod faces two massive, vine-covered PILLARS, unsure. He turns
to watch the driver lead the coach away.
Ichabod walks between the pillars to a long straight road. He does not notice, above: THREE DEAD RAVENS hang from a tree limb, twine wrapped round
their necks.
EXT. SLEEPY HOLLOW, TOWN SQUARE --DAY
Ichabod walks on with baggage. The square is empty, a CHURCH and
GRAVEYARD at one end. The road ahead is bordered by businesses
and homes.
CONVERSATION DRIFTS from a tavern. A criminal sits in stocks.
A quiet CRYING is HEARD. Ichabod hears...
He looks for its source. It's from a window above, LOUDER. SOUNDS
like the SOBBING of an OLD WOMAN.