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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.