As for the opening shot, that screen grab does look a little weird but doesn't capture how it looks in motion. It looks fine on the actual DVD.
I might actually redo that shot though, because I'd rather the crawl not have any black issues period, even subtle ones.
I've already burned a lot of copies but this is a tiny change that I'm just doing for my own personal peace of mind really. Either version will suffice for copying.
UPDATE UPDATE!
The Classic Edition has been very slightly updated .... the opening shot has been cleaned up further.
Well, I guess this wouldn't be a Classic Edition if there weren't two versions floating around with just a tiny tiny difference between them. There was one for Empire and probably one for Jedi.
So yes, the opening crawl and shot of the Star Destroyer chasing the Tantive IV has been cleaned up further, now using 2004 DVD material for the entire shot with better black levels. This was a difficult editing and cleanup task, the most difficult of the film - the laser bolts were painted back into the shot frame by frame to avoid using TOO much of Shadowman's wonderful but not quite 2004-DVD quality restoration.
I still have to watch this on a TV to see how well it actually came out.
Because the difference is so tiny, I have no problem with sending out both versions. Some people will receive the first version, some people receive the 2nd, and you won't be able to tell the difference between them without a scorecard.
So I'm providing a scorecard .... In the form of a couple of DVD-ROM extras.
I've noticed that people really care about quality and have all wanted the dual-layer version this time round, believing me that when I said for once it's worth it.
So I guess I have to actually make the dual layer version a little more full of value.
I've included two special extras on the second version.
The first is an AVI file of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report from October 11th -- George Lucas was the guest star on The Colbert Report, as Stephen presented the finale to his epic "Green Screen Challenge" competition. My friend Bonnie Rose won the contest. Star Wars references abound including an appearance by Jar Jar Binks.
The second is a batch of DVD-quality M2V/AC3/AIFF files which present a better quality copy of the Star Wars skit from the Donny and Marie show, back in 1977. If you have my Return of the Ewok DVD you've seen this -- at only 12 minutes it's much shorter than the Star Wars Holiday Special, but somehow manages to be much worse ... It's the worst Star Wars related thing I've ever seen, and you have to love it for that, particularly if you enjoy horribleness like the Holiday Special. Donny and Marie Osmond play Luke and Leia - definitely the first time Luke and Leia were ever shown as brother and sister in an incestuous relationship. 6 years ahead of your time, guys. Redd Foxx is Obi-Wan, Kris Kristofferson is Han, Paul Lynde is Tarkin, Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger) is Darth Vader, the Ice Angels are the stormtroopers on skates, Anthony Daniels is C-3PO, and we've got R2-D2 and Chewbacca. The whole thing is horrifying.
And this copy is better quality than was on Return of the Ewok. I have the entire show but due to disc space issues I'm only including the Star Wars related material - although more than was on Return of the Ewok.
Some people may not be able to play these files - the video is in M2V format and the sound is in both AIFF and AC3 formats. Newer versions of Quicktime will understand it though, and so will VLC. I present it in this format so that it will be incredibly easy to burn to your fan DVDs - M2V/AC3 is of course the traditional DVD video format.
So, that's how to tell whether you've got the SLIGHTLY altered Dual Layer version. A couple of weird extras.
Enjoy.