Not surprisingly, this film feels like "ground zero" for several stereotypes and is often a jarring view in that regard. Yet director King Vidor captures moments that feel very genuine—like the performance of Pappy (90-year-old ex-slave Harry Gray), who comforts his repentant son. The music, too, is beautiful. McKinney's performance set the stage for hard-living bad girls to come (hello, Carmen Jones?). Parts of the movie are filmed in a documentary style, making it visually interesting—and, perhaps, lending an unfortunate implication of veracity. Features include commentary by film scholar Donald Bogle and artist/educator Avery Clayton, and two musical shorts—one of which features McKinney and the famed dancing duo The Nicholas Brothers (the surviving brother, Fayard, died January 24).

In the extras, film scholar Todd Boyd offers interpretive comments and professor Drew Casper explains how Minnelli used camera angles and song-dramatic integration in the storytelling effort. Lena Horne, Fayard Nicholas and Anderson's wife and daughter also provide commentary.

With the help of Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore, Drew's great aunt), the aristocratic white woman for whom she provides nursing care, Pinky realizes that unless she can be herself, she won't be happy. She needs the inner strength she's gained when Miss Em wills Pinky her estate. Pinky is an interesting window into its time, and all three of the leading women portray relatable characters. Still, the casting choice of Crain, a white actress who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for the role, rather than Lena Horne or another light-skinned black actress seems designed to make viewers say "Boy, racism sure is terrible when it affects white people!" Additionally, the movie ends in a way typical of a "tragic mulatto" picture.

Though groundbreaking in its treatment of interracial relationships, the movie is also remarkable for what it doesn't show—namely, any kissing or extended hugging between Dandridge and Justin, or anything other than proximity between Belafonte and Norman (which, frankly, detracts from the believability of the latter relationship). But given the extreme controversy of the subject matter (several theaters and communities threatened to boycott the film—and those were the friendlier of the responses, particularly in the South), the film is progressive in its own way. It's beautifully filmed, with sets in Barbados and on the island of Grenada. The 45-minute special feature "Dorothy Dandridge: Little Girl Lost" tells the story of the difficult life and tragic death of Dandridge, whose life in some ways paralleled that of Marilyn Monroe. With interviews with Bogle (Dandridge's biographer), Dandridge's ex-husband Harold Nicholas, Fayard Nicholas, and close friend Geri Branton, those features alone is worth the cost of the DVD.