Trần Phương

In the late 1970s, he tried his hands at directing by assisting Trần Vũ, who he previously worked for in "Truyện vợ chồng anh Lực"(1973) and was married to his longtime onscreen collaborator Đức Hoàn. In 1979, he made his first directing debut with "Mưa rơi trên thành phố". His major breakthrough came in 1980 with the crime drama "Tội lỗi cuối cùng" and in 1981, " Hy vọng cuối cùng", a work that deals with moral corruption and deterioration of trust in Vietnam's "subsidy period" - themes that are most present in his films throughout the 80s. "Hy vọng cuối cùng" earned Trần Phương Best Director at 1983 Vietnam Film Festival, and is still one of his most critically acclaimed works.

With the introduction of the commercial "instant noodles" films in early 1990s, Trần Phương moved his productions to the South, and gravitated towards making crime and actions, distinguished by melodramatic themes, fast pace, along with a greater focus to costumes and set design. The director enjoyed great commercial success and despite some criticisms against his initial mainly Northern production team, his films were almost always box office hits universally enjoyed by the Southern public, and cemented the careers of some of its most famous commercial stars like Diễm My and Thương Tín.

Despite a successful career, Trần Phương's personal life in his last years was marred by the death of his son and a series of debilitating health issues. He passed away in Hanoi on 26th August 2020, at the age of 90.