Noticing Edits
There are moments in the film that stand out in regards to Ichabod's
altered appearance. There are at least two scenes accompanied by
close-ups, a needed cover for a pick-up shot with changed dialogue.
Ichabod's hair is straightened and of a longer length. His coat in the earlier scenes has two rows of golden thread edging his coat, from its collar to its hemline. His waistcoat has the same threading. At times the coat has only one line of said golden edging. Other times it appears to have two. Ichabod's coat is tailored with two such lines when it comes to action figures, cosplay replicas, etc. The 12" Medicom Ichabod figure wears two thin coats, leading one to think it is based on the film costuming.
His waistcoat collar does not flair as elegantly in the second photo as
the first. He also seems to wear his cravat in a style not as refined
as before.
The first moment in the film I can recall seeing Ichabod with much changed hair and a slightly different costume is when he faints after being chased by Brom Van Brunt disguised as the Headless Horseman. This may be due to a replacement shot. According to the script, the sequence originally showed Ichabod coming face-to-face with Brom. Perhaps it was added to give him a segue into a dream where once there was none.
As you can see in the photos below, Ichabod's hair is longer and in a different style than it is as we see him fall into dreams.
The horse chase scene as it is in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
The HEADLESS FIGURE is HEARD letting out a hellish CRY of rage. Ichabod glances fearfully over his shoulder . . .
A HORRIBLE FACE with flaming eyes and mouth rushes forward . . .
It smashes into Ichabod - sends him sprawling to the ground in an explosion of red hot ash and cinders...
Ichabod rolls, shaken... looking behind. The trail is empty. HOOFBEATS are HEARD. SEVERAL HORSES.
Ichabod stands. He looks down at the remnants of a BROKEN JACK-O-LANTERN and smoldering ball of paper on the trail.
The FIGURE rides to a halt, throws off a cloak and "headless" disguise; it's Brom. Glenn and Theodore ride up, laughing.
Brom also laughs, but when he looks back, the smiles leaves his face. He takes grim satisfaction in what he's done.
Ichabod's face is haunted, running with the sweat of fear- he is still trembling from the experience.
FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)
Ichabod! Ichabod!
And suddenly we are pitched into Ichabod's dream.
The novelization tells a slightly different story:
The head smashed against him and he fell. Fire leaped around him, exploding from the brush, igniting the chunks of flesh that tumbled to the ground.
The hoofbeats were coming closer, slowing down. More than one set - a group of horses.
Ichabod tried to see, but the path was swallowed up by darkness. He scrambled to his feet, nearly stepping on the remains of burning flesh.
No. Not flesh.
The air had a sweet, familiar smell - pumpkin.
Ichabod glanced around. A chunk of jack-o'-lantern grinned back at him from a clump of grass, mocking his fear. Beside it was a smoldering ball of paper.
The horse and rider loomed before him, the ludicrously broad shoulders silhouetted in the faint moonlight.
The Headless Horseman reached up to touch the collar of his cape. He grabbed it firmly and pulled.
It was no monster at all.
Ichabod was face-to-face with Brom Van Brunt.
***
"Ichabod! Ichabod!"
He was dreaming. That much he knows. He knows the voice that is calling him, too - female and thrilling.
The ugly thoughts are disappearing. The chase. Brom's prank. The way Brom had sat there in the woods with two friends, Glen and Theodore. All of them laughing, enjoying Ichabod's terror, gaining pleasure at the expense of his sanity.
They had left him there to stamp out the fire. Only Gunpowder had stayed with him. Now he is safe in his room at the Van Tassels'. Katrina is in the house, too, sleeping in her room. Not far away.
The official comic version:
The next moment I can recall of visually noticeable
alteration is when Ichabod paces his room, gathering strength and resolve after he has a second dream of his mother. The scene is possibly inserted to
give the viewer some idea of his mental change and to make an easy
segue when dialogue was trimmed.
Included below is the sequence as it reads in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
65. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, DOWNSTAIRS - DAY
Baltus, Steenwyck, Doctor Lancaster and Notary Hardenbrook are having another meeting, this time with Lady Van Tassel and Katrina on hand with the drinks.
BALTUS
Right - this time I'll go to New York myself and I won't be fobbed off with an amateur deductor.
HARDENBROOK
(correcting him)
Dectector.
STEENWYCK
(correcting)
Deductive.
DOCTOR LANCASTER
(doubting)
No . . . no . . .
BALTUS
(rising above it)
An amateur sleuth! This time it's a magistrate that's dead, and -
The door is flung open without ceremony.
It's Ichabod ready for action, transformed, ready to go - with Young Masbath round-eyed just behind him.
ICHABOD
Gentlemen! - I need able men, to go with me to the Western Woods.
Who will be the first to volunteer?
BALTUS
You . . . ? We thought you'd shot your bolt . . .
ICHABOD
A setback, merely.
And yet, a step forward too - we now know who has done these terrible -
STEENWYCK
You now know, we already knew -
ICHABOD
(high on it)
Quite so - and now it seems fate has chosen me to make my name in a case without parallel in the annals of crime - in short, to pit myself against a murdering ghost.
KATRINA
(fearful for him)
No, Ichabod - Constable -
LADY VAN TASSEL
(smiles)
Do you intend to arrest him? Or impound his horse . . . ?
The Men chuckle indulgently.
ICHABOD
Neither. To put an end to the killing. To discover the cause and remove it. Who's with me?
No one.
The novelization is the same, word for word.
Film:
Baltus Van Tassel, Doctor Lancaster, Reverend Steenwyck and Notary Hardenbrook are gathered together in a meeting inside the Van Tassel house. Katrina, Lady Van Tassel and the servant girl, Sarah, hover in the background, silently listening.
"Alright," Baltus says, "this time I'll go to New York myself. I won't be fobbed off on an amateur deductor.
The scene changes to that of Ichabod's room. In it he paces back and forth, spinning the toy as he thinks. He pauses and takes his coat from its post, leaving the room.
We next see Katrina in the same room as before, listening to her father. Baltus can be heard in the background. "This time it's a magistrate that's dead -"
Baltus is interrupted by Ichabod who addresses the party from the top of the stairs. His voice is full of determination. They all turn to look at him. "Gentlemen, I need able men to go with me to the Western Woods."
"You? We thought you'd shot your bolt," Baltus states, disbelieving.
Ichabod begins to descend the stairs. Young Masbath follows him. "I have faced my fears and come out determined to locate the Horseman's grave. In short, to pit myself against a murdering ghost."
Lady Van Tassel rushes to Katrina's side, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.
Ichabod crosses his arms, a broad smile on his face. "Who's with me?"
The entire room looks to him in silence.
Behind Ichabod, Masbath shyly raises his index finger. "Me?"
Listening to the film with headphones, it is obvious that Ichabod was dubbed when he said "I have faced my fears and come out determined to locate the Horseman's grave." It's also fairly noticeable that Lady Van Tassel was about to speak before the shot was cut.
Another instance is when Ichabod has unearthed the body of the Headless Horseman from his grave. He is shown crouched above the grave, his hair unruly but not in the same state as it is during his close-up.
The scene in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
KATRINA:
The Skull is Gone. What does it mean?
Ichabod jumps out from the grave, snapping his fingers.
ICHABOD:
(energized)
It means, my dear Miss Van Tassel, it means -yes! What exactly does it mean? - It means, unless I am much mistaken . . . It definitely means something - what that something is, only time will tell! But I sense that we are very close to the answer here, if only we had one more clue . . .
Novelization:
"The skull is gone," Katrina said. "What does it mean?"
Ichabod leaped to his feet. "It means, my dear Miss Van Tassel, it means - yes! What exactly does it mean? It means, unless I am much mistaken, it definitely means something! What that something is, only time will tell! But I sense that we are very close to the answer, if only we had one more clue-"
Comic:
Film:
"The skull is gone," Ichabod announced.
Katrina and Young Masbath listen, apparently horrified by what they're hearing.
Ichabod continued, "Taken. That is why the Horseman returns from the grave. To take heads until his own is restored to him."
(close up ends)
We only see Ichabod crouch down. The word "the" is the last we hear supposedly coming from his lips - easily dubbed - before we are shown Katina and Young Masbath's reactions. Ichabod's words play over their footage before he is shown again in a close-up.
We see another sudden change in Constable Crane's appearance when he is writhing in bed, fevered and weak after being stabbed by the Headless Horseman. His bedside is attended by Doctor Lancaster, Baltus Van Tassel and eventually Katrina, who offers him a potion to help him sleep.
The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
Katrina comes to the beside with her beaker. Ichabod sees her. He is in pain, feverish.
ICHABOD
I . . . I . . . tried to stop Brom but . . .
Katrina soothes him.
KATRINA
Shh . . . no one could have done more. Drink this down, it will make you sleep.
ICHABOD
The Horseman was not set to kill Brom . . . or me . . . If Brom had not attacked him . . .
BALTUS
Later. Rest now.
ICHABOD
I have discovered something.
Baltus and Doctor Lancaster glance at each other.
BALTUS
These are ravings.
ICHABOD
The Horseman does not kill for the sake of killing . . . He chooses his victims.
KATRINA
Drink . . .
She holds the beaker to Ichabod's lips. He drains it and falls back on the pillow, closing his eyes.
The scene in the novelization is the same.
Film:
"Oh, Katrina, I tried to stop Brom but -"
Katrina hushes him. "Drink this down. It will make you sleep."
Ichabod considers the drink but thinks to speak instead. "The Horseman was not set to kill Brom or me. Had Brom not attacked him -"
Baltus raises a hand to silence Ichabod. His voice is gentle once he speaks. "Later, rest now."
"I've discovered something," says Ichabod. "The Horseman does not kill at random."
Doctor Lancaster worriedly looks to Baltus who continues to watch Crane, listening intently to his every word. A secret hidden behind his questioning gaze.
"His victims are chosen by someone who controls him," Ichabod continues. "By that very person who took his skull."
Doctor Lancaster and Baltus are shown, their faces still awash with the fear of a truth being told. Katrina listens with concern, her free hand on the blanket covering Ichabod.
"Someone who knew where to dig. Someone of flesh and blood, as I've always said."
"These are ravings," Baltus remarked.
"Shhh," Katrina whispers lovingly to Ichabod, "drink."
Ichabod does as he's instructed, trusting Katrina implicitly. Exhausted, his head falls back on the pillow as soon as he is finished, and he fades into a deep sleep.
"The Horseman was not set to kill Brom or me. Had Brom not attacked him -"
"Later. Rest now."
"I've discovered something. The Horseman does not kill at random."
"His victims are chosen -
"- by someone who controls him."
"By that very person who took his skull."
"Someone who-"
"- knew where to dig. Someone of flesh and blood, as I have always said."
"These are ravings."
For an easy comparison view the below:
There is an entire sequence composed of Ichabod's different look. Reading the original turn of events, I can't help but think the way in which he summarizes that the Horseman is controlled by a mortal in the script plays out better than in the finished film. Ichabod's powers of deduction, the connections of events and people, all fit so well together it seems a shame to have abandoned much of the plot due to time restraints (if that was indeed the reason).
I have discussed this sequence in more detail in this post: https://withoutbenefitofghoulsandgoblins.blogspot.com/2018/11/differences-in-visit-to-notary.html
Here I will include a few photos.
Ichabod isn't the only person who looks different when he visits the Notary's office. Young Masbath does as well. He appears to be older than when we first met him.
Constable
Crane next comes unraveled when he makes ready to leave Sleepy Hollow.
He steps into his carriage with a mane of wild hair, but moments later his hair has straightened itself
and grown - only to transform again.
Above: outside the carriage.
Below: Inside.
If the scene was originally as the novelization depicts, I believe it would have been a superior version of events. It would have allowed us to know in greater detail the extent of Ichabod and Katrina's feelings for each other. As it is, Ichabod does not seem as upset as one might expect, if we are to gauge his emotions by those shown within the carriage. Ichabod idly plays with the spinning toy, his thoughts unknown or with the case until he recalls the book of spells given him by Katrina.
The novelization:
The coach took off with a sudden lurch. As it rolled down the road, Ichabod felt a sharp pain. It started in his gut and traveled in a wave to his head, causing his eyes to well up - all the pent-up frustration and horror and grief finally letting loose. He pounded the side of the coach, trying to blunt the agony.
In his despair, he didn't see Katrina's face pressing against the window, her cheeks streaked with tears.
Ichabod strove to regain his composure. He gazed forward listlessly, swallowing his emotions, as the coach crossed the covered bridge and rolled past the town square. The church was still in shambles, the window broken, the iron gate mangled.
Soon, Ichabod told himself, these would be fixed. In time the town would prosper again, and this tragedy would resend to legend. Perhaps someday he would pass through on his way north, and not a soul would remember his face.
Near Dr. Lancaster's office they came upon a slow-moving horse pulling a cart. An undertaker was walking alongside, his face lowered, in the practiced grimness of his profession. Many of these will pass through Sleepy Hollow in the days to come, Ichabod thought.
He looked into the cart as they passed, stealing a glance at the body.
He knew who it was immediately. The head was missing, but one palm was gashed severely.
Lady Van Tassel.
Ichabod stifled a gasp. She had been a kind woman but impossible to fathom. At least Baltus had been spared the grief of her burial.
The cart was leaving the town limits now and also, Ichabod hoped, the last reminder of the awful tragedy. As he settled into the seat, he listened to the cricket chirps wane, replaced by the fresh, hopeful songs of the morning birds.
A sudden clopping of hoofbeats made him turn around. Another rider was approaching fast. It was a woman, her shape quickly becoming familiar - Katrina. He felt a rush of hope, of happiness, but he knew that feeling was foolhardy. And she was foolhardy if she thought she'd catch him.
Katrina was riding past the undertaker's cart now, slowing down to take a look.
Ichabod turned away. He had seen enough misery. He could not bear to see it again, on the face of the only women he'd ever loved.
Nonetheless he listened for the resumption of hoofbeats behind them. Part of him held out hope that Katrina would follow.
But the sound never came.
Van Ripper's horses were slow, and the ride even more bumpy than the one from New York. In between bone-jarring potholes, Ichabod had somehow drifted off to sleep. Every dream had been of Katrina.
By midafternoon, he was thirsty and agitated. He reached into his satchel for a bottle of water. His fingers grazed against Katrina's book. Pulling it out, he thought he caught the faint scent of honeysuckle.
He leafed through the book absently until he reached a page that contained a familiar diagram - a pentagram, the Evil Eye. The same design Katrina had drawn twice.
Over the picture was a headline: "For the Protection of a Loved One Against Evil Spirits."
As the sequence as is in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
164. INT. VAN RIPPER COACH - DAY
INSIDE THE COACH, Ichabod slumps. He pounds twice on the coach wall.
165. EXT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, FRONT LAWN - DAY
OUTSIDE, Van Ripper whips the reins. The coach starts. Young Masbath watches, wiping tears.
166. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, KATRINA'S ROOM - DAY
Katrina wakes. She hears the Coach Wheels. She gets up from the bed and goes to the window. Her POV shows the Coach leaving . . . Katrina's face shows that her world has collapsed around her.
167. EXT. TOWN SQUARE, CHURCH - DAY
Van Ripper's coach crosses the covered bridge . . . past the town square . . . past the church.
Near Doctor Lancaster's house, the coach passes a flat cart . . . on which lies the headless corpse of Lady Van Tassel. Ichabod looks at the corpse and he notes the gashed palm of the dead hand.
The cart is being pulled at a walking pace by a single horse. The CART MAN walking, holding the bridle.
The cart man pauses, seeing a RIDER approaching, traveling in the same direction as Ichabod's coach.
Ichabod realizes that the rider is Katrina. He looks from the coach window and sees Katrina get down from the horse and go to the cart.
Ichabod pulls back from the window and closes his eyes.
168. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD'S ROOM - DAY
Young Masbath enters, looks around empty room. He goes to sit, crosses his arms on the desk and lays down his head.
169. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, PARLOR - DAY
Katrina enters. She crosses, slumps in a chair, staring into the burning fireplace.
170. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, VARIOUS ROOMS - POV - DAY
A POV MOVES SLOWLY THROUGH THE HOUSE, SOMEONE'S searching various rooms . . .
171. INT. VAN RIPPER'S COACH
Ichabod opens his satchel, takes out a bottle of water and gulps from it. In replacing the bottle, he finds . . . the Book given him by Katrina. He opens the book. The is a DIAGRAM DRAWING on a whole page. Ichabod recognizes the "Drawing" of the supposed "Evil Eye" identical to the two we have seen before. But what gets Ichabod's attention is the bold "headline."
The Headline over the Picture is "For the Protection of A Loved One Against Evil Spirits."
In the comic, Ichabod never leaves the Van Tassel home, which simply might be because it was an easier solution for the artist.
In the film, Ichabod enters the carriage, rides for a few minutes, sees the corpse of 'Lady Van Tassel' then, for some reason, reaches for the book Katrina gave him, as though searching with the intent to find the Evil Eye. He finds the page, sees the true meaning of the symbol, then has Van Ripper turn the coach around at the town gates.
I believe that in the shot below Ichabod was originally seeing Katrina outside his carriage window. Ichabod/Johnny's features betrays emotion.
His hair is shorter again, compared to his look in the carriage. His nonchalant reaction after supposedly seeing 'Lady Van Tassel's' body is pictured below. If Ichabod was originally filmed crying due to his parting with Katrina, the photo above might be the aftermath of his show of emotion.
On an end note, it's interesting that in most of the added scenes Burton kept enforcing the idea of a "mortal adversary", a killer of flesh and blood. It also seems as though the scenes that were added in favor of their previous incarnations were often less emotional.
Judging by Ichabod's many different looks, the change in not only his suit but to his character, and Young Masbath's growth, I would wager that the footage we see that makes Sleepy Hollow whole was filmed over a course of some time.
Ichabod's hair is straightened and of a longer length. His coat in the earlier scenes has two rows of golden thread edging his coat, from its collar to its hemline. His waistcoat has the same threading. At times the coat has only one line of said golden edging. Other times it appears to have two. Ichabod's coat is tailored with two such lines when it comes to action figures, cosplay replicas, etc. The 12" Medicom Ichabod figure wears two thin coats, leading one to think it is based on the film costuming.
The double row of gold above.
The single row below.
The single row below.
The first moment in the film I can recall seeing Ichabod with much changed hair and a slightly different costume is when he faints after being chased by Brom Van Brunt disguised as the Headless Horseman. This may be due to a replacement shot. According to the script, the sequence originally showed Ichabod coming face-to-face with Brom. Perhaps it was added to give him a segue into a dream where once there was none.
As you can see in the photos below, Ichabod's hair is longer and in a different style than it is as we see him fall into dreams.
After
The horse chase scene as it is in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
The HEADLESS FIGURE is HEARD letting out a hellish CRY of rage. Ichabod glances fearfully over his shoulder . . .
A HORRIBLE FACE with flaming eyes and mouth rushes forward . . .
It smashes into Ichabod - sends him sprawling to the ground in an explosion of red hot ash and cinders...
Ichabod rolls, shaken... looking behind. The trail is empty. HOOFBEATS are HEARD. SEVERAL HORSES.
Ichabod stands. He looks down at the remnants of a BROKEN JACK-O-LANTERN and smoldering ball of paper on the trail.
The FIGURE rides to a halt, throws off a cloak and "headless" disguise; it's Brom. Glenn and Theodore ride up, laughing.
Brom also laughs, but when he looks back, the smiles leaves his face. He takes grim satisfaction in what he's done.
Ichabod's face is haunted, running with the sweat of fear- he is still trembling from the experience.
FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)
Ichabod! Ichabod!
And suddenly we are pitched into Ichabod's dream.
The novelization tells a slightly different story:
The head smashed against him and he fell. Fire leaped around him, exploding from the brush, igniting the chunks of flesh that tumbled to the ground.
The hoofbeats were coming closer, slowing down. More than one set - a group of horses.
Ichabod tried to see, but the path was swallowed up by darkness. He scrambled to his feet, nearly stepping on the remains of burning flesh.
No. Not flesh.
The air had a sweet, familiar smell - pumpkin.
Ichabod glanced around. A chunk of jack-o'-lantern grinned back at him from a clump of grass, mocking his fear. Beside it was a smoldering ball of paper.
The horse and rider loomed before him, the ludicrously broad shoulders silhouetted in the faint moonlight.
The Headless Horseman reached up to touch the collar of his cape. He grabbed it firmly and pulled.
It was no monster at all.
Ichabod was face-to-face with Brom Van Brunt.
***
"Ichabod! Ichabod!"
He was dreaming. That much he knows. He knows the voice that is calling him, too - female and thrilling.
The ugly thoughts are disappearing. The chase. Brom's prank. The way Brom had sat there in the woods with two friends, Glen and Theodore. All of them laughing, enjoying Ichabod's terror, gaining pleasure at the expense of his sanity.
They had left him there to stamp out the fire. Only Gunpowder had stayed with him. Now he is safe in his room at the Van Tassels'. Katrina is in the house, too, sleeping in her room. Not far away.
The official comic version:
Included below is the sequence as it reads in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
65. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, DOWNSTAIRS - DAY
Baltus, Steenwyck, Doctor Lancaster and Notary Hardenbrook are having another meeting, this time with Lady Van Tassel and Katrina on hand with the drinks.
BALTUS
Right - this time I'll go to New York myself and I won't be fobbed off with an amateur deductor.
HARDENBROOK
(correcting him)
Dectector.
STEENWYCK
(correcting)
Deductive.
DOCTOR LANCASTER
(doubting)
No . . . no . . .
BALTUS
(rising above it)
An amateur sleuth! This time it's a magistrate that's dead, and -
The door is flung open without ceremony.
It's Ichabod ready for action, transformed, ready to go - with Young Masbath round-eyed just behind him.
ICHABOD
Gentlemen! - I need able men, to go with me to the Western Woods.
Who will be the first to volunteer?
BALTUS
You . . . ? We thought you'd shot your bolt . . .
ICHABOD
A setback, merely.
And yet, a step forward too - we now know who has done these terrible -
STEENWYCK
You now know, we already knew -
ICHABOD
(high on it)
Quite so - and now it seems fate has chosen me to make my name in a case without parallel in the annals of crime - in short, to pit myself against a murdering ghost.
KATRINA
(fearful for him)
No, Ichabod - Constable -
LADY VAN TASSEL
(smiles)
Do you intend to arrest him? Or impound his horse . . . ?
The Men chuckle indulgently.
ICHABOD
Neither. To put an end to the killing. To discover the cause and remove it. Who's with me?
No one.
The novelization is the same, word for word.
Film:
Baltus Van Tassel, Doctor Lancaster, Reverend Steenwyck and Notary Hardenbrook are gathered together in a meeting inside the Van Tassel house. Katrina, Lady Van Tassel and the servant girl, Sarah, hover in the background, silently listening.
"Alright," Baltus says, "this time I'll go to New York myself. I won't be fobbed off on an amateur deductor.
The scene changes to that of Ichabod's room. In it he paces back and forth, spinning the toy as he thinks. He pauses and takes his coat from its post, leaving the room.
We next see Katrina in the same room as before, listening to her father. Baltus can be heard in the background. "This time it's a magistrate that's dead -"
Baltus is interrupted by Ichabod who addresses the party from the top of the stairs. His voice is full of determination. They all turn to look at him. "Gentlemen, I need able men to go with me to the Western Woods."
"You? We thought you'd shot your bolt," Baltus states, disbelieving.
Ichabod begins to descend the stairs. Young Masbath follows him. "I have faced my fears and come out determined to locate the Horseman's grave. In short, to pit myself against a murdering ghost."
Lady Van Tassel rushes to Katrina's side, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.
Ichabod crosses his arms, a broad smile on his face. "Who's with me?"
The entire room looks to him in silence.
Behind Ichabod, Masbath shyly raises his index finger. "Me?"
Listening to the film with headphones, it is obvious that Ichabod was dubbed when he said "I have faced my fears and come out determined to locate the Horseman's grave." It's also fairly noticeable that Lady Van Tassel was about to speak before the shot was cut.
Another instance is when Ichabod has unearthed the body of the Headless Horseman from his grave. He is shown crouched above the grave, his hair unruly but not in the same state as it is during his close-up.
"The -
- skull is gone. Taken."
"That is why the Horseman returns from the grave. To take heads until his own is restored to him."
KATRINA:
The Skull is Gone. What does it mean?
Ichabod jumps out from the grave, snapping his fingers.
ICHABOD:
(energized)
It means, my dear Miss Van Tassel, it means -yes! What exactly does it mean? - It means, unless I am much mistaken . . . It definitely means something - what that something is, only time will tell! But I sense that we are very close to the answer here, if only we had one more clue . . .
Novelization:
"The skull is gone," Katrina said. "What does it mean?"
Ichabod leaped to his feet. "It means, my dear Miss Van Tassel, it means - yes! What exactly does it mean? It means, unless I am much mistaken, it definitely means something! What that something is, only time will tell! But I sense that we are very close to the answer, if only we had one more clue-"
Comic:
Film:
"The skull is gone," Ichabod announced.
Katrina and Young Masbath listen, apparently horrified by what they're hearing.
Ichabod continued, "Taken. That is why the Horseman returns from the grave. To take heads until his own is restored to him."
(close up ends)
We only see Ichabod crouch down. The word "the" is the last we hear supposedly coming from his lips - easily dubbed - before we are shown Katina and Young Masbath's reactions. Ichabod's words play over their footage before he is shown again in a close-up.
We see another sudden change in Constable Crane's appearance when he is writhing in bed, fevered and weak after being stabbed by the Headless Horseman. His bedside is attended by Doctor Lancaster, Baltus Van Tassel and eventually Katrina, who offers him a potion to help him sleep.
The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
Katrina comes to the beside with her beaker. Ichabod sees her. He is in pain, feverish.
ICHABOD
I . . . I . . . tried to stop Brom but . . .
Katrina soothes him.
KATRINA
Shh . . . no one could have done more. Drink this down, it will make you sleep.
ICHABOD
The Horseman was not set to kill Brom . . . or me . . . If Brom had not attacked him . . .
BALTUS
Later. Rest now.
ICHABOD
I have discovered something.
Baltus and Doctor Lancaster glance at each other.
BALTUS
These are ravings.
ICHABOD
The Horseman does not kill for the sake of killing . . . He chooses his victims.
KATRINA
Drink . . .
She holds the beaker to Ichabod's lips. He drains it and falls back on the pillow, closing his eyes.
The scene in the novelization is the same.
Film:
"Oh, Katrina, I tried to stop Brom but -"
Katrina hushes him. "Drink this down. It will make you sleep."
Ichabod considers the drink but thinks to speak instead. "The Horseman was not set to kill Brom or me. Had Brom not attacked him -"
Baltus raises a hand to silence Ichabod. His voice is gentle once he speaks. "Later, rest now."
"I've discovered something," says Ichabod. "The Horseman does not kill at random."
Doctor Lancaster worriedly looks to Baltus who continues to watch Crane, listening intently to his every word. A secret hidden behind his questioning gaze.
"His victims are chosen by someone who controls him," Ichabod continues. "By that very person who took his skull."
Doctor Lancaster and Baltus are shown, their faces still awash with the fear of a truth being told. Katrina listens with concern, her free hand on the blanket covering Ichabod.
"Someone who knew where to dig. Someone of flesh and blood, as I've always said."
"These are ravings," Baltus remarked.
"Shhh," Katrina whispers lovingly to Ichabod, "drink."
Ichabod does as he's instructed, trusting Katrina implicitly. Exhausted, his head falls back on the pillow as soon as he is finished, and he fades into a deep sleep.
"The Horseman was not set to kill Brom or me. Had Brom not attacked him -"
"Later. Rest now."
"I've discovered something. The Horseman does not kill at random."
"His victims are chosen -
"- by someone who controls him."
"By that very person who took his skull."
"Someone who-"
"- knew where to dig. Someone of flesh and blood, as I have always said."
"These are ravings."
"Shhh, drink."
There is an entire sequence composed of Ichabod's different look. Reading the original turn of events, I can't help but think the way in which he summarizes that the Horseman is controlled by a mortal in the script plays out better than in the finished film. Ichabod's powers of deduction, the connections of events and people, all fit so well together it seems a shame to have abandoned much of the plot due to time restraints (if that was indeed the reason).
I have discussed this sequence in more detail in this post: https://withoutbenefitofghoulsandgoblins.blogspot.com/2018/11/differences-in-visit-to-notary.html
Here I will include a few photos.
Ichabod in the Van Tassel house, sorting through papers. Note that his
hair is different in this scene than when he visits the Notary. Judging
by the names on the papers, such as Lawyer Hardenbrook, Elizabeth
Kierstadt instead of Fenwick for Katrina's mother, I have to wonder when this was filmed. Ichabod seems less serious, more the comic
Ichabod. Johnny Depp's face is a little heavier in the scenes where he
has longer hair - except for in the scene above.
Ichabod isn't the only person who looks different when he visits the Notary's office. Young Masbath does as well. He appears to be older than when we first met him.
Young Masbath attends his father's funeral.
Below: Young Masbath at the Notary's.
Below: Young Masbath at the Notary's.
Beneath are a few examples of the young man's changing height. Note that he's a few steps ahead of Ichabod in the first photo.
Above: outside the carriage.
Below: Inside.
If the scene was originally as the novelization depicts, I believe it would have been a superior version of events. It would have allowed us to know in greater detail the extent of Ichabod and Katrina's feelings for each other. As it is, Ichabod does not seem as upset as one might expect, if we are to gauge his emotions by those shown within the carriage. Ichabod idly plays with the spinning toy, his thoughts unknown or with the case until he recalls the book of spells given him by Katrina.
The novelization:
The coach took off with a sudden lurch. As it rolled down the road, Ichabod felt a sharp pain. It started in his gut and traveled in a wave to his head, causing his eyes to well up - all the pent-up frustration and horror and grief finally letting loose. He pounded the side of the coach, trying to blunt the agony.
In his despair, he didn't see Katrina's face pressing against the window, her cheeks streaked with tears.
Ichabod strove to regain his composure. He gazed forward listlessly, swallowing his emotions, as the coach crossed the covered bridge and rolled past the town square. The church was still in shambles, the window broken, the iron gate mangled.
Soon, Ichabod told himself, these would be fixed. In time the town would prosper again, and this tragedy would resend to legend. Perhaps someday he would pass through on his way north, and not a soul would remember his face.
Near Dr. Lancaster's office they came upon a slow-moving horse pulling a cart. An undertaker was walking alongside, his face lowered, in the practiced grimness of his profession. Many of these will pass through Sleepy Hollow in the days to come, Ichabod thought.
He looked into the cart as they passed, stealing a glance at the body.
He knew who it was immediately. The head was missing, but one palm was gashed severely.
Lady Van Tassel.
Ichabod stifled a gasp. She had been a kind woman but impossible to fathom. At least Baltus had been spared the grief of her burial.
The cart was leaving the town limits now and also, Ichabod hoped, the last reminder of the awful tragedy. As he settled into the seat, he listened to the cricket chirps wane, replaced by the fresh, hopeful songs of the morning birds.
A sudden clopping of hoofbeats made him turn around. Another rider was approaching fast. It was a woman, her shape quickly becoming familiar - Katrina. He felt a rush of hope, of happiness, but he knew that feeling was foolhardy. And she was foolhardy if she thought she'd catch him.
Katrina was riding past the undertaker's cart now, slowing down to take a look.
Ichabod turned away. He had seen enough misery. He could not bear to see it again, on the face of the only women he'd ever loved.
Nonetheless he listened for the resumption of hoofbeats behind them. Part of him held out hope that Katrina would follow.
But the sound never came.
Van Ripper's horses were slow, and the ride even more bumpy than the one from New York. In between bone-jarring potholes, Ichabod had somehow drifted off to sleep. Every dream had been of Katrina.
By midafternoon, he was thirsty and agitated. He reached into his satchel for a bottle of water. His fingers grazed against Katrina's book. Pulling it out, he thought he caught the faint scent of honeysuckle.
He leafed through the book absently until he reached a page that contained a familiar diagram - a pentagram, the Evil Eye. The same design Katrina had drawn twice.
Over the picture was a headline: "For the Protection of a Loved One Against Evil Spirits."
As the sequence as is in The Art of Sleepy Hollow:
164. INT. VAN RIPPER COACH - DAY
INSIDE THE COACH, Ichabod slumps. He pounds twice on the coach wall.
165. EXT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, FRONT LAWN - DAY
OUTSIDE, Van Ripper whips the reins. The coach starts. Young Masbath watches, wiping tears.
166. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, KATRINA'S ROOM - DAY
Katrina wakes. She hears the Coach Wheels. She gets up from the bed and goes to the window. Her POV shows the Coach leaving . . . Katrina's face shows that her world has collapsed around her.
167. EXT. TOWN SQUARE, CHURCH - DAY
Van Ripper's coach crosses the covered bridge . . . past the town square . . . past the church.
Near Doctor Lancaster's house, the coach passes a flat cart . . . on which lies the headless corpse of Lady Van Tassel. Ichabod looks at the corpse and he notes the gashed palm of the dead hand.
The cart is being pulled at a walking pace by a single horse. The CART MAN walking, holding the bridle.
The cart man pauses, seeing a RIDER approaching, traveling in the same direction as Ichabod's coach.
Ichabod realizes that the rider is Katrina. He looks from the coach window and sees Katrina get down from the horse and go to the cart.
Ichabod pulls back from the window and closes his eyes.
168. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, ICHABOD'S ROOM - DAY
Young Masbath enters, looks around empty room. He goes to sit, crosses his arms on the desk and lays down his head.
169. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, PARLOR - DAY
Katrina enters. She crosses, slumps in a chair, staring into the burning fireplace.
170. INT. VAN TASSEL HOUSE, VARIOUS ROOMS - POV - DAY
A POV MOVES SLOWLY THROUGH THE HOUSE, SOMEONE'S searching various rooms . . .
171. INT. VAN RIPPER'S COACH
Ichabod opens his satchel, takes out a bottle of water and gulps from it. In replacing the bottle, he finds . . . the Book given him by Katrina. He opens the book. The is a DIAGRAM DRAWING on a whole page. Ichabod recognizes the "Drawing" of the supposed "Evil Eye" identical to the two we have seen before. But what gets Ichabod's attention is the bold "headline."
The Headline over the Picture is "For the Protection of A Loved One Against Evil Spirits."
In the comic, Ichabod never leaves the Van Tassel home, which simply might be because it was an easier solution for the artist.
In the film, Ichabod enters the carriage, rides for a few minutes, sees the corpse of 'Lady Van Tassel' then, for some reason, reaches for the book Katrina gave him, as though searching with the intent to find the Evil Eye. He finds the page, sees the true meaning of the symbol, then has Van Ripper turn the coach around at the town gates.
I believe that in the shot below Ichabod was originally seeing Katrina outside his carriage window. Ichabod/Johnny's features betrays emotion.
His hair is shorter again, compared to his look in the carriage. His nonchalant reaction after supposedly seeing 'Lady Van Tassel's' body is pictured below. If Ichabod was originally filmed crying due to his parting with Katrina, the photo above might be the aftermath of his show of emotion.
The change in his appearance is as follows:
On an end note, it's interesting that in most of the added scenes Burton kept enforcing the idea of a "mortal adversary", a killer of flesh and blood. It also seems as though the scenes that were added in favor of their previous incarnations were often less emotional.
Judging by Ichabod's many different looks, the change in not only his suit but to his character, and Young Masbath's growth, I would wager that the footage we see that makes Sleepy Hollow whole was filmed over a course of some time.
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