This 1999 TV-movie take on Washington Irving's classic ghost story might be considered one of the most faithful adaptations, but it's also among the driest. Made the same year as Tim Burton's lavishly atmospheric version, the plodding period feature is dull and insubstantial in comparison. Brent Carver hams it up as New England schoolteacher Ichabod Crane whose rivalry for the affections of local girl Katrina Van Tassel leads him on the trail of the legendary Headless Horseman. Unfortunately, his bumbling eccentricity only exaggerates the film's overall tweeness, with stilted support and basic direction compounding the limp affair.

Ichabod Crane, a Yankee wanderer, arrives in Sleepy Hollow and becomes the new schoolmaster. He meets Katrina Van Tassel, and blissfully fantasizes about how can marry her, ultimately, inherit her father's rich estate. Her suitor Brom Bones, the blacksmith, wants to scare him away and dresses up as the legendary Headless Horseman. During the prank, the real ghost appears and drives Ichabod off