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.

Finn Dodd is a 26-year-old college student who's engaged to Sam, a nice, handsome carpenter. But Finn feels very confused about many issues in her life, including her impending marriage. For help in resolving her problems, Finn pays a visit to the quilting bee--seven older female relatives and friends who create quilts together. Each sage member of the bee imparts valuable advice to Finn, recounting important memories and events of their lives.

Theatrical release: October 6, 1995.

Jared Leto makes his feature-film debut in HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT. Leto and costar Claire Danes also appeared together on the TV series MY SO-CALLED LIFE.

Maya Angelou is a renowned American poet.

Excerpt: "How do you merge into this thing called a couple and still keep a little part of yourself?"--Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder), about marriage.

"I've never liked full moons; it gives people an excuse to act foolish."--Anna (Maya Angelou).

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Single Layer
Full Frame - 1.33
Letterbox - 1.78
Audio:
Dolby Digital 3.0 - Spanish
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
Additional Release Material:
Film Highlights
Cast and Crew Bios
Trailers: Theatrical
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes

Winona Ryder: American actress, GIRL, INTERRUPTED
Anne Bancroft: American actress, THE GRADUATE
Ellen Burstyn: American actress, ALICE DOESN'T LIVEHERE ANYMORE
Kate Nelligan: Canadian Actress
Alfre Woodard: American actress
Maya Angelou: American Poet/Actress/Director, DOWN IN THE DELTA (1998)
Kate Capshaw: American Actress, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM
Loren Dean: Supporting Actor
Samantha Mathis: Actress, PUMP UP THE VOLUME, BROKEN ARROW (1996)
Dermot Mulroney: American Actor
Derrick O'Connor: 
Claire Danes: American Actress, LITTLE WOMEN (1994)
Jared Leto: Actor
Jean Simmons: British actress, SPARTACUS (1960)
Lois Smith: American Character Actress
Rip Torn: American Actor/Director
Mykelti Williamson: Star, ATL (2006)
Johnathon Schaech: 
Adam Baldwin: American supporting actor

Jocelyn Moorhouse: Director/Screenwriter

"...QUILT hangs together quite nicely." -- Rating: B
"...[A] sweet, sincere tale....Cameraman Janusz Kaminski takes great delight in painterly homages that vary from American Gothic to the Norman Rockwell oeuvre..."
"...A romantic tale that is intelligent..."
"..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