SCREENING ROOM

The late French director Jacques Demy was often neglected by critics because he made musicals and fantasies, says American Cinematheque programmer Gwen Deglise. But in France, there’s been a revival, and the Aero Theatre gets into the act Friday and Saturday with four of his films. “Jacques Demy’s Colorful Masterpieces” includes the classic musicals “The Young Girls of Rochefort” (1967), with sisters Catherine Deneuve and Francoise Dorleac, pictured, and “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964) -- as well as his only U.S. movie, 1969’s “Model Shop,” which was shot in L.A. (americancinematheque.com). . . . Long before the birth of motion pictures, audiences were entertained by magic lantern shows, which used a combination of stationary and hand-held rear projection techniques. This Wednesday, the film academy’s Science and Technology Council presents the American premiere of the Minwa-Za Company of Tokyo at the Linwood Dunn Theater (oscars.org). . . . Before he got into “Dirty Dancing,” Patrick Swayze got his groove on as a disco skate gang leader named Ace in the 1979 hoot “Skatetown U.S.A.,” screening Saturday at the Silent Movie Theatre. . . . Screening Monday at the Silent Movie is Sam Fuller’s controversial 1982 film “White Dog,” starring Kristy McNichol as a ingenue who hires a black animal trainer (Paul Winfield) to reeducate a dog trained to attack African Americans. The film saw limited release in the U.S., prompting Fuller to leave America for Paris. He never made another film in the U.S. (silentmovietheatre.com). . . . Saturday’s midnight presentation at the New Beverly is one of the all-time great turkeys, the 1980 horror flick “Humanoids From the Deep,” starring Doug McClure and Ann Turkel (newbevcinema.com).

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-- Susan.King@latimes.com