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Around Town: Sharon Stone and Hannibal Lecter, Spaghetti westerns and leprechauns

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Sharon Stone is front and center at the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica this weekend. She’ll be on hand Friday evening for a screening of Martin Scorsese’s 1995 gangster flick, ‘Casino,’ for which she won a Golden Globe and received a lead actress Oscar nomination as a Las Vegas hooker. On tap for Saturday is a screening of the R-rated shocker that put her on the map, Paul Verhoeven’s 1991 ‘Basic Instinct.’ Stone plays a bisexual femme fatale who snares a San Francisco cop portrayed by Michael Douglas. Also screening is ‘The Quick and the Dead,’ Sam Raimi’s 1995 western with Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The American Cinematheque’s monthlong tribute to composer John Barry continues this weekend at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood with the four James Bond films he scored. Screening Friday is a double feature of 1963’s ‘From Russia with Love’ and 1971’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever.’ There will also be a screening of a rare interview with Barry. On tap for Sunday is the double bill of 1964’s ‘Goldfinger’ and 1967’s ‘You Only Live Twice.’

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For fans of Yogi Bear and his pal Boo Boo, the Aero has a special family matinee Saturday of the 1964 animated feature ‘Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear,’ which finds the two bears being sent from Jellystone to the San Diego Zoo. Five years before Anthony Hopkins embodied everyone’s favorite cannibal in ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ director Michael Mann introduced the character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in his stylish adaptation of Thomas Harris’ novel ‘Red Dragon.’ Brian Cox is superb as Lecter. William Petersen also stars as the FBI agent who sent the good doctor to prison. The Egyptian celebrates the film’s 25th anniversary Saturday. Mann and Petersen, schedules permitting, will appear in person.

Oscar-nominated actor Robert Forster (‘Jackie Brown’) will appear in person Sunday evening at the Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre to discuss his career and screen his 1967 film debut, ‘Reflections in a Golden Eye,’ as well as 1969’s ‘Medium Cool,’ directed by Haskell Wexler, who will also appear at the event, hosted by ‘Ed Wood’ screenwriter Larry Karaszewski. http://www.americancinematheque.com

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art kicks off its ‘On the Edge: Classics from La Semaine de la critique’ Friday. The French Union of Critics created ‘La Semaine de la critique’ in 1962 -- it runs parallel to the Cannes Film Festival and showcases first and second feature works. All the films in this series made their debuts in ‘La Semaine.’

Friday’s offerings are Jacques Audiard’s first feature, 1994’s ‘Regarde les hommes tomber,’ with Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1962 debut, ‘Pitfall.’ Saturday’s early screening is Gaspar Noe’s 1998 film, ‘I Stand Alone’; no one under 18 will be admitted. The evening screening is Jean-Marie Straub/Daniele Huillet’s 1968 feature, ‘Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach.’ http://www.lacma.org

UCLA Film and Television Archive’s festival of preservation at the Billy Wilder Theater serves up some delicious film noir Friday evening with 1951’s ‘Cry Danger,’ starring Dick Powell, Rhonda Fleming and Richard Erdman, and 1950’s ‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,’ with James Cagney and Barbara Payton. Set for Saturday afternoon is Baby Peggy: Hollywood’s Tiny Titan, a tribute to the child star who became a box office sensation at the age of 2. Diana Serra Cary, who was Baby Peggy, and writer David Stenn will appear in person. In the evening, UCLA will screen the acclaimed but rarely seen 1970 drama ‘Wanda,’ which the late Barbara Loden wrote, produced and starred in.

The Sunday matinee features more Vitaphone shorts made between 1928 and 1930. The evening’s offering is the 1941 movie musical ‘Pot O’Gold’ with Jimmy Stewart and Paulette Goddard, along with a selection of ‘Soundies’ -- musical shorts that were produced for film jukeboxes in the 1940s. Monday’s program is ‘The Sid Saga Parts 1-3,’ which features the work of ex-vaudevillian Sid Laverents. http://www.cinema.ucla.edu

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Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 masterwork, ‘Battleship Potemkin,’ arrives Friday at the Nuart Theatre for a one-week engagement in a new restoration that restores dozens of missing shots, all 146 original title cards as well as Edmund Meisel’s 1926 score. The Odessa steps sequence is still a marvel of cinematography and editing that has never been surpassed.

The Nuart’s midnight show Friday is Sam Raimi’s 1981 horror classic, ‘The Evil Dead.’ http://www.landmarktheatres.com

The Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre celebrates St. Patrick’s Day Thursday with a ‘Leprethon!’-- a screening marathon featuring the cult hits ‘Leprechaun 3,’ ‘Leprechaun 4: In Space’ and ‘Leprechaun in the Hood.’ Schedule permitting, Brian Trenchard-Smith, the director of the first two films in the marathon, will be on hand to discuss his work.

Cinefamily’s John Cassavetes retrospective continues Friday with his landmark 1968 feature, ‘Faces,’ starring his wife Gena Rowlands, John Marley, Lynn Carlin and Seymour Cassel, as well as his 1963 studio picture, ‘A Child is Waiting,’ with Judy Garland and Burt Lancaster.

Saturday, Rowlands will appear in person to discuss her life, career and late husband and screen 1974’s ‘A Woman Under the Influence,’ for which she received a lead actress Oscar nomination, and 1980’s ‘Gloria,’ for which she also earned an Oscar nod. And on Sunday, Cassavetes’ work as an actor is on display in 1976’s ‘Mickey and Nicky’ and 1969’s ‘Machine Gun McCain.’

The International Documentary Assn. presents a conversation with ‘Hoop Dreams’ director Steve James on Monday evening at the Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre. On tap for Tuesday at the Silent Movie Theatre is a screening of the 1976 Czech version of ‘The Little Mermaid.’ There will be live musical performances before the screening. http://www.cinefamily.org

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Quentin Tarantino continues to program his New Beverly Cinema this month. Thursday’s offering is a double bill of the rarely seen 1975 film ‘Man Friday’ with Peter O’Toole, and the 1975 cult hit ‘Cooley High.’ Scheduled for Friday and Saturday are Rod Amateau’s 1976 ‘Drive-In’ and Richard Linklater’s popular 1993 high school flick, ‘Dazed & Confused.’ The midnight screening is the truly bizarre 1971 film ‘Pretty Maids All in a Row,’ directed by Roger Vadim and starring Rock Hudson.

Screening Sunday is 1973’s ‘Charley One-Eye,’ starring Richard Roundtree, followed by 1973’s ‘Kid Blue,’ directed by James Frawley and starring Dennis Hopper. Tuesday’s Grindhouse Night features 1976’s ‘Hot, Cool and Vicious,’ directed by Tso Nam Lee, and 1971’s ‘Fearless Fighters,’ directed by Min-hsiung Wu. http://www.newbevcinema.com

The Echo Park Film Center celebrates animated shorts from young Puerto Rican artists Thursday evening. The program features the works of stop motion animators and visual artists Jose Quique Rivera and Daniela Swamp. Both filmmakers will be in attendance. http://www.echoparkfilmcenter.org

The LA Filmforum presents ‘Composite Histories: The Films of Cathy Lee Crane,’ Sunday at the Echo Park Film Center. The Ithaca, N.Y.-based filmmaker will show four of her works from the last decade. http://www.lafilmforum.org

The first annual Los Angeles Spaghetti Western Festival visits the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood Saturday. The day-long event features such movies as ‘The Gatling Gun,’ ‘Dead Men Don’t Count,’ ‘A Fistful of Dollars,’ a guest panel of actors and a tribute to composer Ennio Morricone by Insect Surfers. http://www.spaghettiwesternfestival.com

-- Susan King

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