Alexander Mnouchkine; French Film Producer Who Led Academy

Alexander Mnouchkine, 85, the French film producer who headed France’s film academy. During his six-decade career, he produced films such as “That Man From Rio” and “Babette S’en Va-t’en Guerre” (“Babette Goes to War”), which launched actress Brigitte Bardot as an international star. He began making movies in 1932 and created Ariane Films in 1945. He was the father of Ariane Mnouchkine, creator and director of the avant-garde Theatre du Soleil. The elder Mnouchkine also produced such classics as Jean Cocteau’s “L’Aigle a Deux Tetes” (“The Eagle With Two Heads”) and more than a dozen movies by Claude Lelouch. On Saturday in Paris of heart failure.