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How to Make an American Quilt

1 disc
Region 1 USA/CA (info)

Director Jocelyn Moorhouse's film adaptation of the novel by Whitney Otto stars Winona Ryder as Finn Dodd, a Berkeley graduate student on summer hiatus at her grandmother's home to work on her thesis and ponder a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Sam (Dermot Mulroney). Finn's grandma, Hy (Ellen Burstyn), lives with her great aunt, Glady Jo (Anne Bancroft), at their idyllic Northern California home. The two fiery women meet with seven older female relatives and close friends for a regular quilting bee, led by Anna (Maya Angelou). Over the course of the summer, Finn contemplates her future while gaining insight into love and relationships from the different members of the quilting bee. Their experiences are brought to life as each woman shares a unique tale with the confused young woman. The interwoven memories of each sage member of the quilting bee--including Constance (Kate Nelligan); Anna's daughter, Mariana (Alfre Woodard); and Finn's free-spirited mother, Sally (Kate Capshaw)--become lessons in love, pain, and emotional growth for Finn as the women work to make her wedding quilt. Each memory becomes a vivid flashback subtly weaving the past and present together to create a colorful collection of stories, featuring young stars including Claire Danes and Samantha Mathis as the individual women in their youth. A tribute to women's friendship and camaraderie, HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT shines with a cast of all-star actresses.
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 20018
Credits

Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, Anna Maria Louise Italiano, Anne Marno, Ellen Burstyn, Ellen McRae, Edna Rae, Keri Flynn, Erica Dean, Edna Rae Gillooly, Kate Nelligan, Alfre Woodard, Maya Angelou, Kate Capshaw, Kathleen Sue Nail, Loren Dean, Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney, Derrick O'Connor, Jean Simmons, Lois Smith, Rip Torn, Elmore Rual Torn, Mykelti Williamson, Johnathon Schaech, Adam Baldwin, Jared Leto, Claire Danes
Critic Reviews

"...A romantic tale that is intelligent..."
Sight and Sound
"..A wealth of old-style Hollywood magic....A memory movie passionately pumped up by the latest top-notch Thomas Newman score..." -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars
USA Today
"...QUILT hangs together quite nicely." -- Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly
"...[A] sweet, sincere tale....Cameraman Janusz Kaminski takes great delight in painterly homages that vary from American Gothic to the Norman Rockwell oeuvre..."
Variety