Johnny Trí Nguyễn urges support for Vietnamese historical film

Actor Johnny Trí Nguyễn has called for public support for Vietnamese historical cinema following the decision to release a shortened version of the film ‘Hộ linh tráng sĩ: Bí ẩn mộ vua Đinh’. The producers decided to cut 20 minutes from the film to improve pacing and narrative density, with the new edit being handled by directors Nguyễn Phan Quang Bình and Hàm Trần.

Nguyễn expressed concern that if historical films fail to succeed at the box office, the genre may disappear from the industry, potentially leaving only AI-generated content to fill the void. He advocated for the use of test screenings to gather audience feedback during post-production, citing his past experience with the film ‘Dòng máu anh hùng’, where he helped reduce the runtime from 120 minutes to 100 minutes to improve the viewing experience.