Media Room

Spike Lee wasn’t always a professional provocateur. In 1986, he was just another director looking for his big break.

He got it with She’s Gotta Have It (MGM, $19.98), his micro-budgeted debut, which still feels fresh more than two decades later.

Remarkably, the film hasn’t had a DVD release until now (it’s in stores Tuesday), and even this version lacks commentary tracks or other extras.

The film didn’t need big stars or even color film stock upon its release. It doesn’t need them now, either, although it would be informative to hear Mr. Lee expound on a film that helped pave the way for fellow black filmmakers such as John Singleton (“Boyz n the Hood”) and the Hughes brothers, Allen and Albert (“Menace II Society”).

“She’s Gotta Have It” follows a sexually assertive woman named Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns) who has little interest in monogamy.

That rankles her three suitors — played by Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell and Mr. Lee as the bespectacled Mars Blackmon.

The ensuing sexual politics unfold, in part, through each character addressing the camera. It would be a tricky stunt for a pro to pull off, but the young Mr. Lee did so with humor and depth.

Some of Mr. Lee’s artistic trademarks started there. The film’s idiosyncratic jazz score came courtesy of the director’s father, Bill Lee.

“She’s Gotta Have It” began Mr. Lee’s cinematic dialogue on racial identity. While some of his later films were criticized for their clumsy handling of such raw material, his maiden film managed to explore race without sacrificing story or characterization.

Some sequences feel like leftovers from Mr. Lee’s student days: A dance number shot in color springs from nowhere and lingers way too long, and the film’s use of still images detracts from the narrative.

Also, perhaps if Mr. Lee had had more than 12 days to shoot his film, he could have polished up some of the more amateurish acting moments.

“She’s Gotta Have It” would deserve kudos simply as a trailblazing film, a milestone in black cinema in which an all-black cast brought sexually aware, multidimensional characters to vivid life, but its belated release will remind audiences it also can stand on its own without any film historians to prop it up.

Christian Toto

3:10 to Yuma (Lionsgate, $29.95 on DVD, $39.95 on Blu-ray) — Remakes don’t often garner a lot of critical acclaim, but this 2007 retelling of the 1957 Glenn Ford film did. The new “3:10 to Yuma” stars Christian Bale as the poor rancher who takes on the task of escorting a captured outlaw played by Russell Crowe to prison. There are few extras besides a commentary by director James Mangold, some deleted scenes and a few short featurettes. The Blu-ray disc has a few more: more making-of documentaries and a feature with Elmore Leonard, on whose short story the film was based.

The Rockford Files: Season Five (Universal, $39.98) — Hercule Poirot had a well-appointed London flat, and Miss Jane Marple had a home and garden in St. Mary Mead, but Jim Rockford may have had the most memorable detecting base of all — a trailer in Malibu. Long before “Cold Case,” James Garner’s wisecracking sleuth was cracking open closed cases. This season was a particularly good one for notable guest stars. They include Ed Harris, Rita Moreno, Kim Hunter, Robert Loggia and another charming detective, Tom Selleck of “Magnum P.I.”

Cary Grant 4-Disc Collector’s Set (Lionsgate, $34.98) — George Clooney has been picking up nominations and awards for his title role in “Michael Clayton.” He’s the closest thing we have to Cary Grant, but you can see the original in this four-movie collection, which includes some of his best at a budget price.

“Operation Petticoat” was based partly on real life. The Blake Edwards comedy follows a submarine crew that tries to repair its ship, which has been sunk in the Philippine Islands in World War II. “The Grass Is Greener,” based on a play and directed by Stanley Donen, stars Mr. Grant and Deborah Kerr as a down-on-their-luck couple of the British aristocracy.

However, the other two films in this collection are the ones that are truly unmissable. “That Touch of Mink” stars Mr. Grant as a wealthy and debonair playboy who only wants an affair and Doris Day as a working girl who wants nothing less than marriage. “Indiscreet,” also directed by Mr. Donen, is worth watching just for the chemistry between Mr. Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Miss Bergman plays an actress who is happy to carry on an affair with Mr. Grant until she finds out that he is not, as he claimed, married.

Con Air and The Rock (Buena Vista, $29.99 each) — Two decade-old Jerry Bruckheimer action flicks come to Blu-ray, looking and sounding better than ever. “Con Air” stars Nicolas Cage as a prison parolee about to be freed after serving time for a murder committed in self-defense when the transport plane he’s on is taken over by the other convicts, who include John Malkovich and a pre-“Chappelle’s Show” Dave Chappelle.

Mr. Cage also stars in “The Rock,” this time as a biochemist who aids Sean Connery in neutralizing a threat when Alcatraz Island is taken hostage by Ed Harris. “Con Air” has few extras — “The Destruction of Las Vegas” spends just a few minutes on the movie’s coolest scene. The extras are more plentiful on “The Rock.” They include an audio commentary by director Michael Bay along with Mr. Bruckheimer, Mr. Cage and Mr. Harris; a feature on Navy SEALs; documentaries on the special effects and the action effects and some amusing outtakes.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Warner Home Video, $19.97) — Alan Arkin finally won an Oscar last year, for his priceless performance in “Little Miss Sunshine.” He was nominated twice before, for 1967’s “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” and this film from 1969. Based on the acclaimed novel by Carson McCullers, “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” stars Mr. Arkin as a deaf man who moves to a small town and tries to brighten the lives of those around him, including teenaged Sondra Locke in her film debut.

The title is part of Warner’s “Director’s Showcase: Take Three” series, which also includes a few other first-time DVD releases: Robert “Chinatown” Towne’s “Personal Best” stars Mariel Hemingway as a hurdler who falls into love with a fellow female competitor for the U.S. Olympic team. Lee Grant’s “Tell Me a Riddle” follows a couple on a cross-country journey while one of them is dying. Daryl Duke’s “Payday” stars Rip Torn as a country singer fully enjoying the fruits of his (somewhat small) fame. Richard “Help!” Lester’s “The Ritz” is a screen adaptation of Terrence McNally’s Broadway farce, with five original cast members: F. Murray Abraham, Jerry Stiller, Jack Weston, Paul B. Price and Rita Moreno.

Kelly Jane Torrance