Duelle

Duelle (Une quarantaine) is a 1976 French experimental fantasy drama film directed by Jacques Rivette. The main title is a neologistic feminine form for the noun "duel". The director-assigned^[1] English title is Twhylight, a combination of "twilight" and "why". The film stars Juliet Berto as the Queen of the Night who battles the Queen of the Sun (Bulle Ogier) over a magical diamond that will allow the winner to remain on earth, specifically modern-day Paris.

Duelle
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jacques Rivette
Written by	Eduardo de Gregorio[a] Marilù Parolini[b] Jacques Rivette[c]
Produced by	Stéphane Tchalgadjieff
Starring	Juliet Berto Bulle Ogier
Cinematography	William Lubtchansky
Edited by	Nicole Lubtchansky
Production companies	Sunchild Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld INA
Distributed by	Gaumont Distribution
Release dates	23 May 1976 (1976-05-23) (Cannes) 15 September 1976 (1976-09-15) (France)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

Cast

• Juliet Berto as Leni
• Bulle Ogier as Viva
• Jean Babilée as Pierrot
• Hermine Karagheuz [fr] as Lucie (hotel receptionist)
• Nicole Garcia as Jeanne / Elsa
• Claire Nadeau as Sylvia Stern
• Elisabeth Wiener [fr] as Viva's ally
• Jean Wiener as the pianist
• André Dauchy as the accordionist
• Roger Fugen as the drummer

Production

The film was the second in a planned quartet but the first to be filmed. It was followed by Noroît. ^[2]

The stylistic model for the film was based on Val Lewton's The Seventh Victim.^[2]

The music, by pianist Jean Wiener, was improvised.^[2]

Notes

1. Screenplay and dialogue
2. Screenplay
3. Mise-en-scène