thanks milo.

anyone else? thanks.

Uh, don't you need a crease for it to fold?

Or are you talking about the crease having a slight crack exposing the white backing? If this is what you mean, yes, I have it too. No biggie.

yes, i meant the white crack that now appears from opening and closing all along the two edges.

I really like the Ultimate Cut. I just watched it again last Sunday. It's long, but I think it plays really well. The Black Freighter stuff is integrated really well. That's the way the BF is in the comic as well, sprinkeled in throughtout the story.

Was at FYE yesterday (Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL), they had a copy of the Ultimate DVD set stuck behind all the other DVD versions, $44 if anyone is looking.

I like this version, too. It's a serious time investment, but I prefer it.

That's part of why I thought the Ultimate Cut was a failure. In the movie, the Black Freighter scenes are sprinkled throughout the story, while in the book I would say they're interwoven (for lack of a better term) together.

One of the purposes of the comic story running parallel to the main story - aside from its thematic relation to Ozymandias' endgame - is that it serves as a kind of Greek chorus commenting on the events in the main narrative. We see panels from the comic coupled with dialogue from the main story as well as the comic story's narration over the central story's images. The sailor seeing scavenging gulls is accompanied by Bernie complaining about stock market profiteers. A pair of Jehovah's Witnesses agitate Bernie and when they cycle away the sailor talks about deathly riders and impending doom.

Plus, the transitions from one thread to the other often involve what you could call visual echoes. Drieberg in bed cuts to the sailor on his raft in the same position, then when the sailor is hanging on to the shark we cut to Bernie in the same position covering his newsstand. Moore uses these tricks constantly throughout much of his work. You could certainly argue these techniques lose their effectiveness by the end of Watchmen but you can't deny these aspects are an integral part of the book.

Yet almost none of these juxtapositions or transitions is attempted in the Ultimate Cut. The film just grinds to a halt, cuts to the animation, then cuts back. It just doesn't work and fucks up the pacing - which wasn't exactly flowing to begin with.

Compound that with the fact that none of the ancillary characters are given enough additional screen time in this cut. Not that believable characterization was ever Alan Moore's strong point - the two Bernards are really stereotypes ("Suit y'self, jive-ass.") until their last moment together, and God knows what Moore was going for with Joey the Hustler-reading, self-hating taxi driver. But I think we needed to get to know at least a few of them as marginally believable characters for their deaths to have the impact that they should. For me the Ultimate Cut is both a failure and a missed opportunity. Packaging is shit, too.

Yeah, I think the UC is a very interesting failure. I do like the added parts w/ some other characters but ANY BF lead in...kills the pace of the film. I like it cuz it is an interesting failure. I loved the comic, really enjoy the DC but damnit...the UC just is too much and it doesn't work it well.

Regardless of whatever cut...those damn Knot Tops are horrible actors. I cringe like a crazy motherfucker when they talk about going to Hollis'