A Few Can't-Miss Classics and Series

As the Shakespeare in Washington festival nears its end, local art houses and museum screening rooms are squeezing in the last of their Bard tributes. In addition to the eclectic mix of Shakespeare-related movies, summer is the time to catch classic films and offbeat series in air-conditioned theaters around town: B-movies at the Hirshhorn, a John Wayne retrospective at the AFI Silver Theatre, Korean film festivals at AFI and the Freer Gallery, and Czech films at the Avalon and the National Gallery of Art.

Some schedules are subject to change, but any of the following films and film series could be an antidote to trilogy-mania and the smell of stale popcorn at the local cineplex.

American Film Institute Silver Theatre (8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring; 301-495-6720)

· The "Best of Buster Keaton" fest continues through July 1, with live accompaniment by local musicians.

· Did you know that Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier and John Wayne were all born in May 1907? Celebrate the Duke's centennial with some of his biggest hits, from Friday through July 4. You can also catch Hepburn in "The Philadelphia Story" from Friday through Sunday and see "Hamlet" done right by Sir Olivier May 19-22.

· Shakespeare Cinema wraps up with Gus Van Sant's take on "Henry IV," "My Own Private Idaho," Olivier's "Hamlet" and "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," Saturday through June 27.

· The "50 Years of Janus Films" series celebrates the classic distributor that championed foreign films, including Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast," Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai," Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" and Federico Fellini's "La Strada," Saturday through Sept. 6.

· The Korean Film Festival, May 26 through June 28, features gangland epics, black comedies and a romantic drama to cleanse the palate.

· As part of a multi-venue arts festival, the "Rediscover Northern Ireland" series screens new classics and the latest hits from the region, including 1979's "Shellshock Rock" and last year's "Middletown," May 31 through June 3.

· Silverdocs, which in its fifth year is quickly becoming one of the nation's premiere festivals for documentary films, runs June 12-17. This year's film groupings include "Music Documentaries," "War & Its Impact," "Why Democracy?" and "Beyond Belief." Jonathan Demme will be honored at the Charles Guggenheim Symposium.