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*** “The Nun’s Story.”Warner. $59.95.

One of the most critically praised films of Fred Zinnemann’s career, this Robert Anderson adaptation of Kathryn Hulme’s book follows a young nun (Audrey Hepburn) through training and vows to crises in the Congo and WWII-torn Belgium. The film has a marvelous first half. All of Zinnemann’s best qualities--tact, taste, integrity, quiet intellect and idealism--shine through in the convent scenes, as does the acting. However, good as Peter Finch is (as an agnostic doctor), the second half seems hurried, over-reticent. On balance, a noble but uninspiring try at a modern spiritual portrait.