SCREENING ROOM

Italy’s Sergio Leone had a singular vision of America, especially the American West. The American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre is paying homage to the spaghetti western maestro with its Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone retrospective, beginning tonight with his 1966 masterwork “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” starring Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach (pictured) and Lee Van Cleef. On tap for Friday are the first two films he made with Eastwood: 1964’s “A Fistful of Dollars” and 1965’s “For a Few Dollars More.” Saturday’s offering is his brilliant 1968 action-drama “Once Upon a Time in the West,” which stars Henry Fonda in a rare bad guy role. His epic final film, 1984’s “Once Upon a Time in America,” screens Sunday evening with his underrated 1971 “Duck, You Sucker” rounding out the tribute Wednesday. (americancinematheque.com)Dances With Films prides itself as being the only U.S. festival dedicated to true indie filmmaking showcasing movies with no stars or well-known directors. The festival kicks off its latest edition tonight at Laemmle’s Sunset 5 and continues through July 31. The competitive festival, which was established in 1998, will feature 80 films from around the globe, including the opening night flick “Route 30,” as well as “Chronic Town,” “Eastern College” and “Fingerman: Dr. London and the Triangle Force” (danceswithfilms.com). . . . Actress Marsha Hunt will appear at the screening of “The Happy Time,” the 1952 comedy in which she appears with Charles Boyer, on Saturday evening at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The 1946 Boyer-Jennifer Jones romantic comedy, “Cluny Brown,” the last film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, will round out the bill (lacma.org).

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-- Susan.King@latimes.com