Klitzner '70.

Today, in the age where nearly every Harvard dorm suite has some form of DVD or home video system, it's almost surprising to some that the theater

continues to stay alive, says Gianvito. The theater continues to use a projection system modeled after the one used in 1953. Unlike at most movie theaters where the projector beams from the back of the theater, the Brattle's projection booth operates from behind the screen. The system is one of the last of its kind in the country.

Academic Flimophiles

Phoenix critic Peary faults Harvard students for not appreciating the merits of the historic theater's programming.

"I think most Harvard students have the same taste of people who go to the

mall," says Peary, who at one point wanted to get married in the Brattle. "People like the feel-good Hollywood movies."

Nonetheless, the Brattle, according to Peary, is lucky to be in an educated environment where people appreciate classic and indepent film.

" In many places a theater like that would drop dead," Peary says. "You have to have the demographic and I'm hoping the new [owners] will stretch the programming and build an audience."

Despite Peary's belief that Harvard students do not appreciate the Brattle's selection, the theater's patrons have been and continue to be mostly students, according to its new owners.

"The most telling evidence that the students are a big part of the audience is that you can tell when vacation comes. The audience has decrease and it's a natural place for students to come because we are showing stuff on the cutting edge and it's simply a comfy place to be," Hinkle says.