chambers and murders her. He gets caught and Ondřej decides to execute him in a similar manner as Rotgier was killed. Armin begs Ondřej to return to the order before his death. The film concludes with Ondřej's return to Teutonic Order. Cast Petr Čepek as Ondřej Jan Kačer as Armin von Heide Věra Galatíková as Lenora Zdeněk Kryzánek as Lord of Vlkov Miroslav Macháček as Brown Friar Josef Somr as Rotgier Václav Kotva as Farmer Production The film was produced after Vláčil's previous film Marketa Lazarová. Marketa was very expensive and it was decided to make another film set in Middle Ages so the sets and costumes could be re-used. However by the time production started the sets from Marketa Lazarová were already destroyed. The screenplay was written by Vláčil and Vladimír Körner. Körner was doing research for his novel Písečná kosa about Prussian uprisings when he was contacted by Vláčil. They quickly wrote the screenplay and the film immediately went into production. Körner released Valley of the Bees as a novel in 1975. The film was eventually shot at Kuklov monastery ruins near Brloh. The Teutonic order scenes were shot at Czech castles Karlštejn and Rabí and Polish castles Malborg and Lidzbark Warmiński. Theodor Pištěk designed the costumes for the film. Vláčil was inspired by historical movies of Ingmar Bergman and Robert Bresson. Jan Kačer was originally supposed to play both Armin and Ondřej. It proved to be technically impossible so Kačer suggested Petr Čepek for the role of Ondřej. The director demanded that ascetic knight Armin needs to be slim, so Kačer was forced to lose 11 kilograms for the role. The film was shot from July to October 1967. Post-production ended in December 1967. The final budget was 4 379 000 Kčs. Release Theatrical release The film had a premiere on 17 May 1968 at Kino U Hradeb in Prague. During its theatrical run it only managed to attract 350,000 viewers. The film was re-released in theatres in 1980. Home video The film was released on DVD in 2007 by Bonton in the Czech Republic. A Second Run DVD with English subtitles was released in 2010. Reception The film received mixed reviews from critics. Many felt that it didn't reach the qualities of Marketa Lazarová, which premiered just 4 months earlier. Gustav Francl criticized the casting Jan Kačer, who he felt didn't fit in the role of