A scene from Phượng Khấu (The Queen’s Robe Button Engraved with an Image of a Phoenix), a TV series about the Nguyễn dynasty in the 19th century. Directed by Huỳnh Tuấn Anh, the film made waves among young audiences after its release last year. Photo courtesy of the producer

HCM CITY— A film project about the Early Lê and Lý dynasties has been launched in HCM City. 

A fantasy film, Huyết Rồng (Blood Dragon), will include two chapters featuring the emperors and heroes of the Early Lê and Lý dynasties. 

The film’s first chapter will feature General Lê Hoàn who served the Đinh dynasty in 979. Hoàn led his army that repelled the Song Chinese invasion in 981. He later became the first emperor of the Early Lê dynasty, named Lê Đại Hành.

The second chapter will highlight King Lý Thái Tổ, the first king of the Lý dynasty from 1010 to 1028. 

King Lý Thái Tổ moved the capital of Đại Việt (Great Việt) from Hoa Lư (now Ninh Bình Province) to Đại La Citadel in 1010, and renamed it Thăng Long (Ascending Dragon), now Hà Nội. The move heralded a new and brighter period in the country’s development. 

Hoa Lư, which means "Flowers of Reeds", was the capital of the Đinh dynasty (968-980) and Early Lê dynasty (980-1009). The ancient capital marks a splendid historical moment in the country’s history of thousands of years. 

A character sketch for Huyết Rồng (Blood Dragon), a fantasy film featuring Vietnamese emperors and heroes of the Early Lê and Lý dynasties. Photo courtesy of the producer

Blood Dragon will feature the themes of patriotism and devotion. Love and royal family secrets will also be highlighted.  

“We have spent a lot of money on production. We hope our film will be of high quality and bring a new taste of Vietnamese history to moviegoers,” said the film’s director Huỳnh Tuấn Anh in a recent interview with local media after launching his film project in HCM City.  

Anh’s previous film, Phượng Khấu (The Queen’s Robe Button Engraved with an Image of a Phoenix), a TV series about the Nguyễn dynasty in the 19th century, made waves among young audiences after its release last year. 

The 18-episode show features Queen Mother Từ Dũ who helped her son, Hồng Nhậm, to become Emperor Tự Đức. He enjoyed the longest reign of any monarch of the Nguyễn dynasty, ruling from 1848 (after his father Emperor Thiệu Trị’s death) to 1883.

Anh invited dozens of historians and cultural researchers, including historian Nguyễn Khắc Thuần and Professor Lê Văn Lan, to complete the screenplay. 

People’s Artist Hồng Vân, Meritorious Artist Thành Lộc and Vietnamese-American actress Hồng Đào played the leading roles. 

Each 60-minute episode of Phượng Khấu costs VNĐ2 billion (US$85,400). More than 200 costumes, half of them handmade, were used.

“I believe Blood Dragon will be much better,” said Anh, who used 3D technology during shooting.  

Anh and his staff have travelled to many sites in Ninh Bình and Hà Nội to prepare for the filming of Blood Dragon. Filming is expected to finish in September.— VNS