Where Was Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Filmed?
You Can Stay at the Exclusive Resort Where "Glass Onion" Was Filmed
A murder mystery is nothing without a motive, a weapon, and a prime crime scene. Like Harlan Thrombey's (Christopher Plummer) gothic revival mansion in "Knives Out," Miles Bron's (Edward Norton) private island in Netflix's "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" serves as the ideal setup for a crime of passion. The island's crown jewel is a giant glass dome that cuts a striking silhouette at the centre of the tech billionaire's private mansion. Miles refers to the estate as the glass onion, a reference to The Beatles' song of the same name. In reality, the movie was filmed at the Amanzoe, a luxury hotel near Porto Heli, Greece.
Where Was "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" Filmed?
In fact, the pricey resort, which is open to the public, isn't on an island at all. Instead, Porto Heli is located on a strip of mainland Greece called Peloponnese, about four-and-a-half kilometres from the Ionian Sea, according to Condé Nast Traveller. The resort also boasts surrounding olive groves.
Production designer Rick Heinrichs told the magazine that the Aman villa stood out to him early on in the scouting process, but he wasn't sure if they'd be allowed to film at the exclusive resort. After six weeks of searching, the villa's modernist aesthetic and classic Greek architecture helped it win out above the rest. "Nothing matched the Aman," he said. "That's like life sometimes. You're afraid you'll fall in love too early and there's something better out there, but as it turns out, you were right in the first place."
"It's very epic, almost like the Colosseum, to approach the villa — which lends itself to the idea that people are about to kill each other."
Heinrichs added, "It just felt like a place of power, and had this great stairway that ran up to the top [with the villas in a hierarchy on the way up]. So there's different views from each villa, and they lead up to the [Glass Onion] with the best view on top. It's very epic, almost like the Colosseum, to approach the villa — which lends itself to the idea that people are about to kill each other. Such scale."
While Miles's glass sculptures rising out of the sea may have been added in with special effects, the film's scenic landscapes and balmy, sand-washed beaches were 100 percent real. According to Time Out, the cast also filmed briefly on the island of Spetses in the Saronic Gulf. Specifically, the scene in which the group are waiting on the dock for their boat to arrive was filmed on the port of Dapia on Spetses's northern coast.
Where Were the Interior Shots of "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" Filmed?
As Detective Blanc (Daniel Craig) and the gang — including Andi Brand (Janelle Monáe), Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), Whiskey (Madelyn Cline), and Peg (Jessica Henwick) — chase each other through the marble halls of Miles's mansion, we're treated to the sight of an expansive infinity pool, a sunken-in velvet sitting room, and rooms decked out with priceless artwork. One notable piece is Rothko's painting "Number 207," hung upside down to display Miles's superficial appreciation of art.
Unlike the arrival scene, many of "Glass Onion"'s interior shots were filmed in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Additional exterior shots for the movie were filmed in Connecticut and New York.
At the time of filming in the summer of 2021, the cast and crew were often subjected to 100-degree weather, but Heinrichs pointed out that the stifling heat was worth it for the unforgettable view. "You could tell they're getting a little stressed with the heat," he said. "I'm sure that was torture for them. But there were also some lovely days. And it is just so incredible to be there, looking out on the Mediterranean. In fact, I think it's one of my favourite places in the world."
