"Jambalaya Pictures' dazzling foray into film noir." Gene Siskel

"Amidst tales of brutal shoots, Cayatano delivers a critical masterpiece." New York Times.

"Doors is not for everyone. Its darkness is intimidating." Roger Ebert

The Revolving Doors world premiere review

The Revolving Doors opened on Nov. 8, 1998 amidst a backdrop of intriguing production. Jambalaya Pictures' much-anticipated foray into black film noir turned out to be as dark as the tone of the film itself.

Click to listen to the Revolving Doors theme song on Real Audio! Soundtrack sold out worldwide. Full length file well worth the wait.

Doors is a story of young lives twirled wantonly around a lifestyle of frothy amusements that mask the undercurrent of the deep disillusionment of frustrated youth. Classic film noir material.

Director Marco Akira Cayatano broke new ground by casting cleancut Jufrie Suleiman ..who built a cult following on his boy-next-door persona...as the darkly temperamental male anchor.

Speaking to ET's Leeza Gibbons in his Granville home, Jufrie talked about his role in Doors. "I suppose it was a stretch artistically playing a dark character. But I enjoyed it. I've always wanted to explore my dark side and this role was the perfect vehicle to do it. It was great."

Santiago, Vasquez and Fandango in Doors

For the parts of Siobhan, Keren and Sarah, Cayatano cast Melissa Vasquez, Rhea Santiago and Jennifer Fandango as world-weary teens. Interviewed at their San Bernardino hideaway, the girls talked to ET's Mary Hart. "Doing Doors was kinda an artistic stretch for us too." Santiago opened. "I think playing weary characters is somewhat alien to our bubbly personalities." Vasquez described as Fandango nodded in agreement. "We're VERY bubbly." Fandango smiled enthusiastically.

The recording of the prime cut off the Doors soundtrack took 3 days in London's legendary Abbey Road studios. Trick Of The Night showcasing the searing vocals of Santiago, Vasquez and Fandango was a worldwide phenomenon overnight.

Trick Of The Night, released 3 weeks before the film premiered, debuted at No.1 on the UK charts and blazed onto the US Billboard charts a week later ... also at No.1. Trick became only the 19th single in pop music history to storm both sides of the Atlantic and is expected to go multi-platinum by Christmas.

The Centerpiece of Doors. Now permanently housed in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. as a motion picture monument.

The Revolving Doors cost Jambalaya $125,000 to create. State of the art fiberglass, tinted slightly with 95% glare reduction, the centerpiece prop was in every way, a technological masterpiece. "Without doubt, the hardest part of working the doors was keeping in step." Jufrie smiled in recollection of the hours of retakes at shoots. "Its not like we were retards or anything. But the doors were heavy and our special effects advisors can confirm this... its a fact that the force exerted is proportionate to the number of steps one takes during the exertion. That is the key variable in the 4 of us walking in cadence in the doors."

Actor-Director Cayatano and male anchor Suleiman in Doors.

The darkest moments of the shoots had to be the delayed scheduling and the struggle to get maximum effort from the cast.." Cayatano offered bluntly as Bob Goen visited him at his Sunnymede home. "Suleiman's time was divided with his charity work with AA Productions. Santiago and Vasquez were doing several joint entertainment endorsements. Fandango was involved concurrently with RC Acoustics and Guitars Inc. It was frustrating at times. But we were professional to the end and hopefully it shows." Cayatano ended.

The legacy of Doors is yet unwritten. Proponents hail it as a tributous throwback to 50s film noir with its classic dark edges and slimy dialogue. Opponents dismiss it as a hastily thrown together piece of work who's only claim to film noir darkness lay in the swamps of the Doors' oft tempestuous production story. The acting is faultless, the directing flawless. Critics say the film lacked a "soul", a contrapuntal force of light. Philosophical debate aside, Revolving Doors succeeds in mantaining the controversial characteristic of the film noir genre...

Film Review for Entertainment Tonite Inc.