How to Make an American Quilt [Blu-ray]

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse Jocelyn Moorhouse

Overview

A young woman at a crossroads in her life finds herself receiving plenty of advice from her older and wiser counterparts in this drama. Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder) is a graduate student trying to finish up her doctoral thesis on women's folk art while deciding if she should marry her fiancé Sam (Dermot Mulroney); she's not sure if she's ready to settle down, and suspects that Sam is unfaithful to her. Needing time to sort things out, Finn chooses to spend the summer with her grandmother Hy (Ellen Burstyn) and great aunt Gladys Jo (Anne Bancroft). Hy and Gladys Jo are avid quilters, and with a group of their friends, they work on a special quilt for Finn's wedding; as the women work together, they share stories of their lives, and Finn finds herself learning as much from hearing them talk as she does from her schoolwork. Finn also receives a visit from her free-spirited mom Sally (Kate Capshaw) and finds herself infatuated with a good looking young man who lives nearby. Maya Angelou plays one of the quilters, as do Kate Nelligan, Jean Simmons, and Alfre Woodard. How to Make an American Quilt was the directorial debut of Jocelyn Moorhouse, and was based on a novel by Whitney Otto that itself began as a doctoral thesis.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/04/2019
UPC:	0191329091487
Original Release:	1995
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Universal
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:57:00
Sales rank:	30,490

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Winona Ryder	Finn Dodd
Ellen Burstyn	Hy
Anne Bancroft	Glady Joe
Maya Angelou	Anna
Samantha Mathis	Young Sophia
Kate Nelligan	Constance
Jean Simmons	Em
Lois Smith	Sophia
Alfre Woodard	Marianna
Kate Capshaw	Sally
Adam Baldwin	Finn's Father
Dermot Mulroney	Sam
Rip Torn	Arthur
Claire Danes	Young Glady Joe
Esther Rolle	Aunt Pauline
Derrick O'Connor	Dean
Johnathon Schaech	Leon
Loren Dean	Preston
Mykelti Williamson	Winston
Melinda Dillon	Mrs. Darling
Joanna Going	Young Em
Tim Guinee	Young Dean
Richard Jenkins	Howell
Alicia Goranson	Young Hy
Maria Celedonio	Young Anna
Denis Arndt	James
Matt Zusser	Pres
Ari Meyers	Duff
Kaela Green	Evie
Jared Leto	Beck
Holland Taylor	Mrs. Rubens
Gail Strickland	The Mrs.
Jane Alden	Em's Mother
David Williams	Em's Father
Tamala Jones	Anna's Great Grandmother
Harvey E. Lee Jr.	Anna's Great Grandfather
Debra Sticklin	Lady Guest
Charles Parks	Male Guest
Will Estes	Boy at Party
Jonah Rooney	Boy at Party
Kaelyn Craddick	Young Finn,Young Finn
Rae'ven Larrymore Kelly	Little Anna
Brian McElroy	Baby Pres,Baby Pres
Paige Kettner	Little Evie,Little Evie
Annie Mae Hunter	Little Duff
Krysten Lee Wilson	Baby Duff,Baby Duff
Jocelyn Moorhouse	Actor
Debra Stricklin	Guest
Will Nipper	Boy at Party
James Rebhorn	Actor
Thomas Newman	Composer

Technical Credits

Jane Anderson

Jane Anderson	Screenwriter
Jocelyn Moorhouse	Director
Martin Becker	Special Effects
Dan Bradley	Stunts
Risa Bramon Garcia	Casting
Laurie MacDonald	Executive Producer,Producer
Deborah Jelin Newmyer	Executive Producer,Producer
Walter F. Parkes	Executive Producer,Producer
Sarah Pillsbury	Producer
Midge Sanford	Producer
Mary Vernieu	Casting
Russell Williams II	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

How to Make an American Quilt is a pleasing, sisters-through-the-generations tableau that, not surprisingly, weaves together stories like panels on the titular fabric. Perhaps too obvious in its metaphors and methods, the film executes them well enough to make it a fond celebration of womanhood. Although the variety of grand dames who take their place around the quilt (Maya Angelou, Ellen Burstyn, Anne Bancroft, Alfre Woodard) would seem to serve as mother figures to Winona Ryder's Finn Dodd, the experiences they recount assume more of a sisterly quality, getting at the universality of the female condition. That said, it's not an exercise in man hating either; there may be more male scoundrels, but both sexes share the blame in the tragic yet simplistic war stories related by the women. The overall outlook is sentimentally optimistic, and the heartland settings look gorgeous through the lens of Steven Spielberg's personal cinematographer, Janusz Kaminski, making for an agreeable if not overly memorable viewing experience. Australian director Jocelyn Moorhouse followed up this first Hollywood movie with another study of mistreated women in America's farm country, A Thousand Acres (1997), but missed the mark while trying to push a more radical agenda.

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