Frantisek Vlacil
František Vláčil (1924–1999) was a Czech director regarded as one of the most distinctive stylists of postwar Central European cinema. Trained in art history and aesthetics, he began his career in the Czechoslovak Army Film studio before turning to feature filmmaking. He stood somewhat apart from the Czech New Wave generation, devoted instead to large-scale historical and mythic subjects rendered in painterly black-and-white compositions and patient duration. His acclaimed films include The White Dove, The Devil's Trap, Marketa Lazarová, The Valley of the Bees, and Adelheid.