Returning to Hollywood for its 16th year April 24 through 27, the TCM Classic Film Festival celebrates Grand Illusions: Fantastic Worlds on Film with a diverse programming slate spanning the years 1920s through the 2000s and appealing to new and veteran classic film fans alike. The festival  offers a great way to learn cinema history, sample new film genres, and befriend like-minded fans, all while meeting celebrities and enjoying special events like a hand and footprint ceremony in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre.

The festival travels to a galaxy, far, far away for its official opening night gala screening with the showing of the epic “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) introduced by producer/co-writer George Lucas. Possibly the greatest sequel and serial chapter of all time. “The Empire Strikes Back” features majestic music penned by legendary composer John Williams, fabulous special effects, patriotic rebels fighting the evil empire, and swashbuckling heroes Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) out to save Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and a glorious cause. Several special guests will probably make surprise appearances.

Passes for the TCM Classic Film Festival are $449 to $2,649.

Individual tickets are $20, and $30 for the closing night presentation. Students with valid ID get a 50% discount.

George Stevens Jr. will receive the Robert Osborne Award for film preservation.

Several special events occur throughout the festival. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer will participate in a hand and footprint ceremony in the Chinese Theatre forecourt Friday morning. Legendary director/producer George Stevens Jr. receives the Robert Osborne Award Friday evening preceding the screening of the world premiere restoration of his superb documentary recounting his father’s life, “George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey” (1985), celebrating its fortieth anniversary. Broadway/film director Michael Schultz is honored with screenings of his films“Car Wash” (1976) and “The Last Dragon” (1985).

Silent films get their due, with screenings of the classic films “Beau Geste” (1926) and “The Freshman” (1925). Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra will accompany the world premiere restoration of “Beau Geste,” starring Ronald Colman, Neil Hamilton, and Ralph Forbes in the first telling of the three English brothers who join the French Foreign Legion and engage in battles, both moral and physical. Archivist James Mockoski will introduce the film and its arduous restoration process. Ben Model will accompany the Centennial presentation of Harold Lloyd’s football slapstick comedy, “The Freshman,” where Lloyd’s “Glasses” character attempts to woo the girl and save the day.

Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.”

Continuing its tradition of screening rare film formats, the festival  will highlight Paramount’s widescreen VistaVision process by showing the films “We’re No Angels” (1955) and “Gunfight at the O. K. Corral” (1957) with special VistaVision projectors installed at the TCL Chinese IMAX Theatre for the festival . “We’re No Angels”, starring Humphrey Bogart, is an unlikely Christmas film and “Gunfight at the O. K. Corral” deals with the tragic event between the Unlike Cinemascope, which shot on 35 mm film which ran vertically through the camera, the VistaVision process is shot horizontally across the width of two 35mm film frames, rendering in remarkably sharp and detailed. Two nitrate prints will also screen, both starring the inimitable Joan Crawford, the little known “Daisy Kenyon” (1947) and the classic “Mildred Pierce” (1945).

Special effects also gets it due. Academy Award-winning sound and visual effects designers Ben Burtt and Craig Barron will provide historic background to the timely “Colossus: The Forbin Project” (1970), about the creation of a supercomputer designed to control U. S. weapons systems but attempts to control the world after developing a mind of its own. Actor Eric Braeden will also appear.

For those looking for lighthearted fun and camaraderie, the festival  will be screening such films as “Mamma Mia” (2008), “Clueless” (1995), and “I Love You Again” (1940) beside the pool at the Roosevelt Hotel. Nightowls can enjoy films too, with midnight screenings of such films as “Rocky Horror Picture Show” ((1975) and “Wild at Heart” (1990).

Tim Curry, left, Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon in “Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

The festival  also presents eclectic programs at Club TCM in the Roosevelt Hotel. Honored filmmaker Michael Schultz will be interviewed as will long-time title designer Dan Perri. A salute to the British Film Institute will include excerpts from films, and a curated program will feature rare clips and footage from world film archives. Craig Barron and Paramount archivist Samantha Barker will explain in further detail the VistaVision process. Animation historian Jerry Beck and UCLA Film and TV Archive Todd Weiner will present a program of rare animated shorts featuring the likes of Betty Boop and Flip the Frog preserved over 60 years by the UCLA Archive. Historians Steven Bingen and Karie Bible will discuss the final resting places of many Hollywood legends.

Virtually every genre also gets its due at the festival, including anime with “Spirited Away” (2001) and Japanese monster movie “Mothra” (1961). Pre-Codes, film noirs, the James Bond film “Thunderball” (1965), “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” (1975), and more recent films “The Fabulous Baker Boys” (1989), “Back to the Future” (1985), “Misery” (1990), “Blue Velvet” (1986), “Heat” (1995), and the timely “the americn President” (1995).

Tickets can be purchased online via the TCM Classic Film Festival website and picked up at the festival , offering a madcap weekend of films, fun, and camaraderie.