This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Berkeley graduate student Finn (Winona Ryder) is spending the summer at the home of her sparring grandmother and great aunt (Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn and Anne Bancroft), where she intends to finish her latest thesis and think over a marriage proposal. As she wrestles with her decision, the women in her grandmother’s quilting bee confide to her the stories of the loves that shaped their own lives. Also starring Maya Angelou, Kate Nelligan, Jean Simmons, Lois Smith and Alfre Woodard, How to Make an American Quilt is a deeply moving and funny film that celebrates following your heart.

For thoughts on How to Make an American Quilt, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/tgmHjkh1298?si=5Qn9hVBpNUq-yXbt&t=3242]

Video Quality

How to Make an American Quilt was released on Blu-Ray in 2019 with a 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 that is a bit underwhelming from Universal Pictures. This transfer is clearly derived from an older source, and there is a consistent feeling throughout that this film would really open up with a fresh master. Thankfully, the source appears to be in okay shape with only fleeting specks of damage that do not prove to be particularly distracting. Compression artifacts and other digital anomalies are present but kept at an acceptable level. This transfer features limited signs of damage or digital tinkering.

Colors could be formidably saturated with more forthright vibrancy with a new scan since not all hues are imbued with life as they should be. Black levels struggle with delineation and crush in nighttime scenes and other shadowy moments. The grain field is not resolved very well as you miss out on the texture of various fabrics and elements within the house. This is a film screaming out for depth and texture as these women work with the material. Universal made the wrong decision to slap a preexisting HD master onto a Blu-Ray with no additional work, and the movie deserves better.

Audio Quality

Universal brings us this Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix that doesn’t hold as many flaws as the video side of things, but there are still some worth mentioning. The stirring Thomas Newman score establishes the tone of the narrative which does exhibit signs of weakness in the form of warbling audio in a few spots. Dialogue holds up pretty well, coming through clearly in the center channel without being drowned out by the music or sound effects. The environmental elements are not as expansive as they deserve to be within the speakers. There are a handful of scenes that get a bit more information when it comes to sound design, but this mix is as single-minded as they come. Universal also needs to work on the audio side of things if they ever release this disc with a new master. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc.

Final Thoughts

How to Make an American Quilt is the type of charming, thoughtful female-driven drama that we so rarely get from a major studio. As all of these women are sharing their stories and processing their past love and trauma, the audience is moved right alongside them. This is done through careful character cultivation which makes you care about each woman (both young and old) on some level, even if you may have your favorites. There are moments of humor and moments of heartbreaking emotions, and the manner in which they are allowed to express themselves and share their stories is very worthwhile to the viewer. Universal Picture Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray that sports a disappointing A/V presentation and no supplemental feature. We would be thrilled if this ever got a better release in the future. Recommended

How to Make an American Quilt can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.