Name the movie I am thinking of! (Or tell me it is all in my head)

December 27, 2013 8:57 PM

Name the movie I am thinking of! (Or tell me it is all in my head)

After visiting the Egyptian Pavillion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art today, I was extremely confident that I remembered it being the filming location of a fancy gala in a James Bond movie or similar. Fuzzier details in my memory include that it was set at night, and the female lead was wearing an elegant, long, black gown. However, when I got home tonight and tried to google it for quite a while, I failed to find any confirmatory evidence.

So clearly, I have it backwards one way or the other. Either a spy movie contains a scene in a similar but not identical location, or I've got the location right and the movie type wrong. Or, possibly, I dreamed/imagined it all. Please help me identify this movie so it will stop driving me crazy and also give me the satisfaction of knowing that such a fantastic venue was used for a picturesque (though likely fictional) event.

posted by halseyaa to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

From New York: The Movie-lovers' Guide:

These days, however, the Met does permit filming within one wing of its property: the dramatic, glassed-in Temple of Dendur pavilion, a vast space that houses a restored Egyptian temple surrounded by fountains [...] Dendur has also provided the setting for gala sequences in many Manhattan movies. Among them: Six Degrees of Separation (1993), Changing Lanes (2002), Maid in Manhattan (2003), and A Perfect Murder (1998)

So there's a start: a more precise name for the setting and a few movies to check out for memories.
posted by Elsa at 9:15 PM on December 27, 2013

This appears to be a photo of the Temple of Dendur gala scene from A Perfect Murder and Gwyneth Paltrow is wearing a black dress – but in almost any gala scene in almost any film, there will be black dresses all over the place.
posted by Elsa at 9:18 PM on December 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

I have a suspicion this appeared in a video game... syphon filter?
posted by Jacen at 9:40 PM on December 27, 2013

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) lists the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a location but I don't know if the gala scene was filmed there.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:41 PM on December 27, 2013

Best answer: I thnk it's Maid In Manhattan but Jennifer Lopez is in a pink gown.
posted by HeyAllie at 9:49 PM on December 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

The type of movie is all wrong, but when I saw the linked picture, I was immediately reminded of When Harry Met Sally - which, after a bit of searching, was indeed filmed there. But you're probably thinking of A Perfect Murder, which does have Gwyneth Paltrow in that long black gown.
posted by eschatfische at 10:00 PM on December 27, 2013

Response by poster: Ahhh... Maid in Manhattan it is!! (And the dress was pink, not black.) I'd like to say that Ralph Fiennes is the reason I felt it was a spy thriller but the truth is that I have no real explanation. Thanks, HeyAllie and all of the other commenters. Now I can sleep peacefully tonight!
posted by halseyaa at 11:09 PM on December 27, 2013

When I clicked on the the link above I immediately thought of I Am Legend, which seems to also have had a scene filmed in that beautiful Egyptian room.
Just some added trivia; I'm glad you found your answer!
posted by Alonzo T. Calm at 11:22 PM on December 27, 2013