“‘A tragedy of loyalty and passion,’” proclaimed the original tagline for this historical drama, whose creation was driven, among other things, by the intention to make use of props and costumes from the year-older opus magnum Markéta Lazarová. Director-screenwriter duo František Vláčil and Vladimír Körner had to wait some time for the world to fully recognize their masterpiece, a film that probes the age-old struggle between rigid asceticism and the yearning for freedom. The newly restored tale of Ondřej of Vlkov and Armin von Heide, two temporary companions on a spiritual journey that, while set in the 13th century, can be viewed through a timeless lens as a meditation on the human effort to break free from the grip of an ideology craving power over nature.
František Vláčil (1924–1999) created films essentially based on original screenplays yet, among the two dozen or so examples of his work, he did occasionally choose literary models. He would return several times to recent or more remote periods in history and, through their evocation, he would combine his knowledge of history with an ability to bring his captivating fantasy visions to the screen. His ability to powerfully bring the past to life is characteristic for all his pictures - "The Devil’s Trap" (1961), "The Valley of the Bees" (1967), "Adelheid" (1969), "Shadows of a Hot Summer" (1977), "Shades of Fern" (1984), "The Magician" (1987) - and culminated with his splendid polyphonic drama "Marketa Lazarová" (1967).
