Gillian Armstrong's warm, richly textured adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel follows the four March sisters, led by Winona Ryder as the aspiring writer Jo, coming of age in Civil War-era New England amid poverty, love and loss. With a cast including Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunst and Christian Bale, it is tender without turning saccharine. Critically praised and Oscar-nominated for Ryder, it long stood as the definitive screen version before later remakes.