Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing

Forbidden love struggles against racial prejudice and social custom in director Henry King's (Carousel) superficial romance revolving around an American journalist (William Holden) stationed in Hong Kong on the eve of the Korean War and a Eurasian doctor (Jennifer Jones) working in a hospital. Striking gold on three of eight Oscar nominations in 1956 (including Best Song), Love is a curiously dated thing, primarily watch-worthy for Holden's charming and charismatic performance, since the film's flimsy screenplay fails to sell the love story (which suffers from a lack of credible onscreen chemistry). Presented in its original CinemaScope format in a nearly pristine transfer, the features-rich disc includes solid audio commentary by film historian Sylvia Stoddard and others, newsreel footage, a restoration demonstration, and an episode of A&E's Biography on Holden. Optional. (T. Rich)