Unfortunately some of it is true.
Here's a review of the DVD set from comingsoon.net
"I don't need to say anything about the movies themselves. More than likely you've already seen them and have your own opinions about them. Personally, they're some of my all time favorite films. I'm also one of the believers that The Empire Strikes Back is the best film in the entire series. The movies have been overhauled extensively for this DVD release. The dust and scratches have been removed. The picture is incredibly sharper. The colors are all brighter. As soon as A New Hope starts, you can see how blue R2-D2 is and how gold C-3PO is. It's a dramatic difference and it makes the films look newer, especially with ANH.
But let's get down to the real item of interest – the latest changes. In case you weren't aware, George Lucas has tinkered with the films yet again. There have been more changes since the Special Editions of 1997. Some of the changes are very minor. Others are pretty dramatic. Here's a quick rundown of what you'll find as far as changes go and my thoughts on them:
Greedo Still Shoots First – Unfortunately, this scene still looks terrible. It was bad enough to make Greedo shoot first in an effort to make Han seem less cold blooded, but now they have made Han dodge the shot. As the blaster bolt comes towards his head, Han jerkily moves to the left. No matter how they tinker with it, it still looks bad.
A New Jabba – This modification to A New Hope actually looks better than it did in the Special Edition. Jabba has been changed to look more like the original puppet and his Episode I incarnation. Everything about him is improved, though Han stepping on his tail still looks a bit awkward. Overall, though, this is a welcome change to this new edition.
Changed Text On The Death Star – In A New Hope, the words on the controls were in English while in the other films it was all in Aurebesh font. That has actually been fixed in this edition when Obi-Wan turns off the tractor beam and when the Death Star gunners go to their computers. Again, another good change.
Longer Cellblock Hallways – This is one of those minor changes that you might miss if you didn't know about it. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the cellblock corridor is much longer than before. I don't have any real opinion one way or another on this one.
A New Emperor – In the Empire Strikes Back, the old Emperor has been changed. Originally it was an old woman with chimpanzee eyes and the voice of Clive Revell. Now it is Ian McDiarmid in his full Emperor makeup. For the sake of continuity, I think this is a good change. However, there's a much more significant modification to this scene. The dialogue has now been changed so that it appears that Darth Vader never knew of the existence of Luke Skywalker. The Emperor now reveals to Darth for the first time that Luke is his son. The implication of this is that in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Anakin doesn't know about the existence of Luke. In the past fans always assumed that Darth Vader knew Luke had been born or at least thought he had been hidden or was dead. This ends up being one of the biggest modifications to the story in this edition. (It also ends up killing a few Expanded Universe stories where Vader learns earlier that his son blew up the first Death Star.)
Boba's New Voice – In ESB and ROTJ, Boba Fett's voice has been replaced by that of Temuera Morrison's (aka Jango Fett and the Clonetroopers). It's a minor change, but for the sake of consistency I think it's welcome.
No Screaming Luke – One of the most despised additions to The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition was Luke screaming as he fell down the pit in Cloud City. The addition of this seemed to be an effort to make Luke's jump seem less like suicide and more like a last ditch effort to escape Darth Vader. It ended up coming across as stupid and unnecessary. Seeing it removed is a great relief.
Anakin Sans Eyebrows and New Eyes – In Return of the Jedi when Darth Vader is unmasked, a couple of modifications have been made to Anakin Skywalker. His bushy eyebrows have been removed and his eye color has been changed. This is yet another change for the sake of continuity and it will make more sense after Episode III. A burn victim wouldn't have eyebrows anyway, so it makes sense.
Naboo Celebration – Added to the celebration at the end of Return of the Jedi is a brief scene showing Naboo, thus revealing that the planet wasn't destroyed at the end of Episode III. In fact, they seem to be doing pretty well considering they gave the galaxy Palpatine. Anyway, you see Theed teeming with humans and Gungans. In fact, you can see Jar Jar (or at least a Gungan you assume to be Jar Jar) in the lower right corner on top of a building dancing and yelling "Weesa Free!" Since this wraps up what happened to Naboo, I like the addition of it. It also makes the Ewoks the least despised creatures in the film.
The Jedi Temple – In the Coruscant Celebration scene, you can now see the Senate and the Jedi Temple still standing in the background. In the Expanded Universe, it was always assumed that the Temple had been destroyed. This, of course, contradicts that. Actually, I'm surprised that Palpatine didn't have it leveled after the extermination of the Jedi. Anyway, it's there in plain view now.
The Ghost of Hayden – Probably the most notable of any of the changes in this edition is the addition of Hayden Christensen at the end of Return of the Jedi. He replaces Sebastian Shaw as the ghost of Anakin at the end of the film. While it seems like more blasphemy, Lucas explains in the commentary that when you become a ghost in the Force, you retain the form of your true self. Anakin's last form of his true self was as a young man, not as a burned up old guy, hence the modification. This may make more sense after Episode III, but it's definitely a controversial change. It will take me a while to buy it.
Other Changes – There are other minor changes here and there in the films. In ESB, Han's jacket which magically appeared in the carbon freezing scene has been removed. In ROTJ, the Rancor matte lines have been cleaned up. In ANH, the Dianoga (trash compactor monster) has had its eye tweaked a little. I'm sure there are other changes that will be found along the way.
Despite these changes, not all the bloopers have been removed. Oola still falls out of her costume and Boba Fett's antenna still switches sides in ROTJ, so there's still room for tweaking in the future. I think for the most part the changes are good and I welcome them. But I have to wonder…where does it stop? At what point will Lucas step back and be completely done messing with them? I'd be willing to bet he has a few more iterations in him before he's finished.
All in all I'm very happy to get the Original Trilogy on DVD. I have been able to sit down with my young kids and let them watch it for the first time. It's also refreshing to go back to these movies and get excited about Star Wars again. The prequels almost seem like a completely different series after seeing this again. In any case, it's a required addition to anyone's DVD collection."
Oh brother.
I'm ready for the DVD set to come out. 