Which version of WATCHMEN to import?

I greatly enjoyed Watchmen and was disappointed to learn that the upcoming Blu-ray release would include only the "director's cut" of the film, with over twenty minutes of additional material. I'm sure the director's cut will be good, but I'm the kind of person who likes to have all the different versions of a movie, and I was looking forward to owning the same version of WATCHMEN that I saw in the theater.

I notice, however, that the theatrical version is being released on Blu-ray in some foreign countries, and I'm probably going to import one of those releases. However, I'm not sure which to get.

I had originally considered the UK release. But I have two concerns. First: are Paramount's UK Blu-ray releases typically region-locked? I know there are region-free Blu-ray players readily available, but I don't have one and it would simply be easier if the disc was compatible with region-A players. Second: Does the disc have any PAL extras? I know that the movie itself is in HD and should play on any HDTV, but don't UK releases sometimes include standard-definition extras in PAL? This wouldn't be a deal-breaker since I'd still have the extras from the US version, but I'd just like to know.

The other release I am considering is the Japanese one. Japan is in the same Blu-ray region as the US, and it uses NTSC, so the above issues wouldn't be a concern. However, it costs about $20 more and I'm afraid it won't be as English-friendly.

Does anyone know anything about the import-friendliness of these or other internation WATCHMEN releases? I'm especially curious to know about the region encoding on the UK release.

Thanks.

The new "Ultimate Cut" Blu-ray release includes only that cut of the film, which incorporates the Black Freighter material.  The previously-released "Director's Cut" is not included, and neither is the original theatrical version (except as a "digital copy").

In case anyone is interested, I did finally purchase the UK Blu-ray release of the theatrical version.

I don't know; I haven't actually watched it.  I just know what's included on account of research I did trying to find a domestic release of the theatrical version before finally importing it from overseas.