Lately I have been going back and finding any old interviews by Lucas pre-TPM, and it is frustrating cause the writing was on the wall then, about where he was going with this saga, and I can't believe I didn't pick it up then. By him saying the real story hasn't been told yet, is either a master sales pitch to the viewer in 1995 that would get anyone juiced to see what is coming up, or if you think about it, he was already denegrating the OT story, because he wasn't viewing the PT as a backstory.
Because it was shot first, the OT HAD to be the real story, and the PT was just fill in the blanks, it wouldn't work any other way, unless Lucas had it planned from the start. The OT story suffers now in 1-6 order, but in turn the PT suffers too cause there are so many little winks to the viewer put in by Lucas that have zero meaning when first watched, "Someday Anakin, you are going to be the death of me." Obiwan said in AOTC. He never would have said that in a true 1-6 story, cause it would be a red flag to the viewer that it either is totally true, or it would pass right over their heads.
I still contend Lucas should have made one 3 1/2 hour prequel movie that resembles ROTS in structure, but fleshes it out a bit more with some flashbacks to get the viewer up to speed onto what is happening, cause in all honesty, you could have someone watch 4,5,6 and then show them Episode III and with alittle backround before they start watching it, it is a standalone movie in many respects. That way the PT would never overshadow the OT just like Godfather II Deniro scenes don't overshadow the real story of Pacinos through the trilogy, instead you have this tug of war of what trilogy you like more.