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| |  | VHS | Home » » The Number 23 (Unrated Infinifilm Edition) | | | | | | | Description: | | Spiraling into a dark obsession with the number 23, Walter Sparrow twists his once idyllic life into an inferno of psychological torture that could possibly lead to his death as well as the deaths of his loved ones. Spurred on by a mysterious novel, The Number 23, that he doesn | | | Features: | |
• In Joel Schumacher s psychological thriller THE NUMBER 23, Jim Carrey takes on another dramatic role. Carrey s character is similar to his roles in THE TRUMAN SHOW and ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND: he portrays an average man thrust into quite extraordinary situations after a series of strange events cause him to question everything he s ever taken for granted. On his birthday, Walter Spar
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston, Rhona Mitra | | Director:
| Joel Schumacher | | Format:
| Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen | | Language:
| English | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| New Line Home Video | | Run Time:
| 95 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| July 24, 2007 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 151 reviews |
| | | | Used and New: | | | |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 151 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 25 found the following review helpful:
3.2 StarsFeb 28, 2007
By tvtv3
"tvtv3"
When I saw the preview for NUMBER 23, I thought it was going to be a great film. The concept of the number 23 being part of some global conspiracy is a great idea for a mystery thriller. Also, Jim Carrey has done a great job of choosing roles that display the full range of his acting talents, not just ones that show his comic prowess and I was looking forward to seeing him in a mystery thriller film. But instead of a mystery thriller, I saw a hacked up film that barely qualifies as a mystery, has no thrills, and very little suspense.
Carrey portrays Walter Sparrow, and older man married to a younger woman named Agatha (Virginia Madsen) who works in a bakery. Walter works as an animal control specialist. Apparently Walter's job isn't all that exciting, but it is something he enjoys doing. At the end of the work day on his birthday, he gets bitten by a stray dog. He chases the dog until he looses him in a cemetery. The incident causes Walter to be late meeting his wife for dinner, which leads her to browsing a used bookstore, where she finds a self-published book about the number 23 that she buys for Walter as a gift. Apparently Walter was so late that Agatha was able to read the entire book while waiting for him. Walter must be a slow reader because it takes him over a week before he finishes it at the end of which time he finds himself going slightly insane, seeing the number 23 everywhere he goes and having dreams about murdering his wife. All reading and no play seems to make Walter a dull boy. Is Walter really going insane? Or is the book actually part of a larger story that Walter has become involved in? Dum, dum, dum, dum, DUM! (Look what I did, onomatopoeia and foreshadowing combined!).
I was really disappointed by NUMBER 23. The concept is so interesting and could be made into a great movie, but NUMBER 23 isn't it. Jim Carrey does a great job of playing both Walter Sparrow and the character of Fingerling from the novel, but he's not given much of a story to work with. Either is the lovely Virginia Madsen. She plays two roles, too, but neither has any real depth. In fact, none of the characters are very developed at all. Sometimes that's okay in a mystery suspense film, but not if you don't have much of a story to work with.
I will give the filmmakers credit, though. There are many people who will not like the ending of the film and even though I was disappointed, I'm glad they tried to bring closure to the whole story. Many times in mystery-thriller and suspense the films end ambiguously with no closure. As my parents used to say, "That's a dumb ending." NUMBER 23 doesn't have a dumb ending. Instead, it has a middle that doesn't make any sense. I'd most like to see a film that makes sense all or at least most of the way through, but given a mindless middle or a dumb ending I think I would rather take the dumb ending.
24 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 This is an excellent movie to the person with an ImaginationAug 03, 2007
By Brent Turner
"B.A.T."
I feel I must correct a bunch of bad talk about this movie. First off, you have no clue as to how it is going to end, and is possibly the best movie ever created to keep your mind in question to the very last minute before it slaps you.
People have talked badly about the scenes where "Jim" is acting as a detective, but it is supposed to be portrayed in how a regular guy would see things happening, if he were imagining himself as the character in a book he were reading. It has the feel of a comic book to some degree, because it is portrayed in an artistic sense and not a literal, serious acting sense.
The story is one of the most brilliant I have ever witnessed, and all the acting was as it should be. Me and everyone I questioned agreed that Jim plays a more convincing "Mentally Insane" person than Johnny Depp even came close to in "Secret Window". Very surprising how well Jim Carrery did, in fact. If you like something that will really make you think, or enjoy a little bit of a challenge, and have an imagination, then this movie will be one of the best you will ever lay eyes on. A very artistic mind set in the making of this film.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
Loved every minuteSep 02, 2007
By Devyn Quinn
Though I'd read reviews before seeing the movie, I decided to see Number 23 for myself. I like Jim Carrey more in serious roles and this one did not dissapoint. Though a bit predictable, I loved every freaking minute, especially the viginettes of Carrey's Walter character imaginaging himself as Det. Fingerling. A brilliant performance of a man coming unhinged by memories which may or may not be his own--and a wife who may or may not be a murderer. All in all, very clever and enjoyable.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Stats never lie, but liars use statsDec 19, 2008
By Jason
When Agatha Sparrow (Virginia Madsen) has an extra moment at a book store while waiting for her husband Walter (Jim Carrey), she picks up a book about the number 23. Written by Topsy Kretts (I would have gone with something like Drew Peacock or Jacques Strap), it's about loose numerology, and connections between statistics that soon consume Walter's life. Before making it through more than the first few chapters, he realizes that all the important numbers in his life, his important dates, his address, his zip code, his in-seam (just kidding), and his IQ (not kidding) can all be easily manipulated to some variation of the number 23. Paranoia ensues.
Jim Carrey's dual-performance as Walter, and Fingerling, the sociopath detective from the book causing the paranoia, is masterful. Carrey shows his range as an actor, distancing himself from the rubber-faced contortionist act that made him a superstar. And Virginia Madsen as a cleavage-displaying, sex-craved Fabrizia, a woman into bondage, sadomasochism, and rape fantasies is equally jaw dropping. In fact, combining her character with the cameo by Rhona Mitra makes me wish there were a sequel.
Portions of the cinematography are similarly ingenious. There are extreme color contrasts, with blacks darker than an eclipse battling bleached alabaster whites for the viewer's focus. The combination reminded me of aspects from Sin City.
Finally, the ending is interesting but a little predictable. If one allows themselves to delve into the story, it's quite easy to ignore the foreshadowing. For those who enjoy pointing out how a magician does something more than enjoying the magic, you may hate the ending.
As far as the actual point of the movie, well, that's pretty stupid. Forgive me, but it just doesn't add up. Jim Carey was born on Jan 17. If January is the number 1, and you add it to 17, there doesn't seem to be anything mysterious going on; it's only 18. But if you add the 5 times I rolled my eyes during the number theory explanations, wait, THAT'S 23!! What I learned from the movie are two terms I found to describe the plot. The first is apophenia, the experience of seeing patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. The second is known as the Texas sharpshooter fallacy. Basically, the idea comes from the idea of someone shooting several rounds into the broadside of a barn, and THEN painting a target in such a fashion to make it appear that the shots were on target. In other words, the conclusions are artificial.
Then again, I was born in 1976 (1+9+7+6=23)...
28 of 39 found the following review helpful:
Murder and Numerological Obsession.Mar 13, 2007
By New Age of Barbarism
"zosimos"
_The Number 23_ starring Jim Carrey as dog catcher Walter Sparrow is an extremely bizarre movie featuring a mysterious murder and a numerological obsession with the number 23. The movie offers a perplexing examination of delusion and madness, showing the power of obsession on the human mind. Numerology and the obsession with the magical power of numbers is an ancient discipline represented by such distinguished ancient thinkers as Pythagoras; however, as this movie shows such a discipline can often lead to unhealthy obsession. Many great thinkers have examined the phenomenon of synchronicity, including such founders of psychoanalysis as Freud and Jung; however, as is often noted there is a fine line between genius and madness. In particular, the alleged recurrence of the number 23 has played a role in the thought of such individuals as William S. Burroughs and Robert Anton Wilson (RAW). Indeed RAW devotes much of his otherwise pointless _Illuminatus!_ trilogy to an explication of the repeated occurrence of this mysterious number, 23. (This film must obviously have been influenced by the thinking of RAW and others, as we see reference made to the maverick psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich, theorist of orgone energy, and a noted obsession of RAW.) It is also well known though that numerological delusions frequently play a part in the ideation of schizophrenics and other disturbed individuals. Such a tendency to observe patterns where none are apparently present has been noted as a primary motivating factor behind both the delusions of the mentally disturbed and highly creative individuals.
This movie begins with Jim Carrey as dog catcher. He is having an otherwise ordinary day (February 2 (2-3) - his birthday) when he encounters a dog named "NED" who bites him in the process of trying to catch him. This synchronous event causes him to be late for a meeting with his wife, giving her ample time to peruse a book at a used bookstore called _The Number 23_. As it turns out, Carrey ends up purchasing this book, which begins his bizarre obsession with the number 23. As Carrey begins reading the book, he notices eerie resemblances to his own life, including similarities to his own family (which holds a dark secret). Ultimately, Carrey discovers that he must resolve a murder which can only be solved by unlocking the key in the book. However, this murder holds a dark secret linked forever to Carrey himself and the number 23. As the story continues, Carrey descends deeper and deeper into madness, until eventually he must make a profound choice which will alter his life forever. To understand the rest of the story you must watch the movie.
Unfortunately, the movie itself tends to drag in parts, and the ending is not very well done. I found myself imagining countless alternative endings, but was ultimately disappointed by what actually occurs. The movie does offer a good look into the mind of a madman, but it ultimately fails to be convincing in certain respects. At the end, I felt that several loose ends were not wrapped up, and remained largely confused about certain details. While the basic idea of this movie is interesting, it ultimately fails to deliver and becomes boring. Thus, I cannot say that I fully recommend it, despite the fact that the idea behind it is an interesting one.
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