We admit it; our appetite got the best of us. We shamelessly over-ate at our weekly "gorge fest." That's the one where Bright Lights' staff attempts to replicate the feast in Fellini Satyricon. Yes, there were whole pigs, yes there were cows, and of course chickens, and chickens and pigs inside cows — all devoured to the screech of "Christian Death Metal" blasting from our trusty Philco. But hey, we're Americans. We're supposed to gorge. It's our birthright and our patriotic duty. Who knew that being patriots would make us sick? We spent the weeks we should have been preparing Bright Lights bent over the toilet (and not in the good way). That's why we're a week late with this issue. Because we were hungry and patriotic.

But enough of this mea culpa. Did I mention we're Americans and shouldn't have to apologize — for anything? We're just doing our part. As are our writers, who, thank goodness, excused themselves from the fete that laid us low. We did manage to crawl to our feet long enough to publish this new issue, which we offer herewith.

Leading off this issue are three fun features. BL newbies David Pike and Bo-Myung Seo explore and explain, respectively, what's happened to Atom Egoyan and how the reunification motif plays out in recent South Korean action cinema. Gordon Thomas jumps in the way-back chariot with an exhaustive comparison of the two Ben-Hurs.

The articles antechamber features a tempting array. Erich Kuersten amusingly unearths the "sensitive male" soundtrack in recent cinema. Andrew Culbertson offers a subtle study of Sunset Blvd. D. J. M Saunders enticingly examines French and American "cinematic vistas" from Tati to Scorsese. BL regular Robert Castle makes provocative pronouncements on "un-movies" and movie sequels. Yours truly left his sickbed briefly to pontificate on documentaries about surrealist painters Leonor Fini and Kay Sage. Associate editor Alan Vanneman adds a pithy new entry to his Fred Astaire encyclopedia, this time Three Little Words.

Vanneman also saw a lot of recent films so you won't have to; his skewerings of Transamerica, Brick, and Thank You for Smoking are surely more entertaining than those films. Also in the recent film roundabout are Tony Macklin's deserved decking of Glory Road; Jayson Harsin's lyrical lament over the Walk the Line that could have been; and BL associate editor Bob Keser canny cheering of Moments Choisis, the short version of Histoire(s) du Cinema. Keser also found time to attend — and write up — the annual European Union Film Festival in a worthy overview.

Revivals are coming fast and furious, and BL is there to meet the trend! Tom Sutpen cleverly confronts Herzog and "God's Angry Man" Gene Scott. Lesley Chow does his distinctive brand of filmic forensics on male and female stars in two unusual pieces. Dan Callahan resurrects the undeservedly obscure Mikio Naruse in a tasty tribute. Matthew Kennedy greets the Busby Berkeley DVD box with open arms, and scratches his chin over the vagaries of Ryan's Daughter. BL newbie Victoria Large takes up with Minnelli's The Pirate in a charming piece, while yours truly revisits an old, beloved pal, Kurosawa's Red Beard.

One of our delightful fever dreams starred Kay Francis, and fortuitously, Dan Callahan uses the two recent bios to celebrate her unique "tawent." BL newbie Sean Edgecomb caught up with the mysterious James Bidgood, of Pink Narcissus fame, for a witty interview. And, in homo corner, your editor takes a look at the pioneering queer doc Word Is Out.

Now that this issue's done, we can go back to the really important stuff: planning the next BL gorge-fest! Bigger and better than ever! More cows!