Alright, I just downloaded the "Ultimate Cut" in order to peek through it and plan ahead for when I actually buy it and start editing.

And I must say, even if the Black Freighter scenes slow the pace of the film (I'm not sure that they do, as I've just been skimming through to find those scenes), they're worth it for the new footage of the newsvendor and the kid, which does several things:

- Makes you care for the newsvendor and the kid more, so you aren't asking "Who the fuck is that?" when they focus so much on them when they die in the explosion at the end
- Gives Walter Kovacz more screentime before his true identity is revealed, making it more of a surprise when that happens
- Gives Hollis Mason more screentime, making you care about him a bit more
- Gives the fat New Frontiersman guy a bit more screentime, but not much (still nice)
- Gives a better introduction to the knot-tops
- An interesting, and particularly sad, new lead-in to New York blowing up

After skimming through this version, I'm very confident that I can successfully accomplish my goals with this edit. I'm really looking forward to starting work on it - but first, I need several things, such as a copy of the DVD and a new hard drive. (Or a copy of the Blu-Ray, a Blu-Ray drive, and a new hard drive, if I want to go HD with this edit.)