During a recent press conference, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani casually dropped a reference to Michael Mann’s iconic 1995 crime drama, Heat.
On Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22), Mayor Mamdani directly addressed reporters and constituents and opened his speech with a quote from Heat. “I want to reflect on the words of the late, great Val Kilmer in the not fully appreciated in its time 1995 Michael Mann classic, Heat,” he said, referring to Kilmer’s memorable performance as Chris Shiherlis. “When speaking about his love interest, Ashley Judd, he said, ‘The sun rises and sets with her, man.’”
Mamdani then used the quote as a jumping-off point to make some connections to the living conditions many New Yorkers are struggling with.
“For too long, the sun has risen and set on New Yorkers living in apartments without reliable heat, or warmed by inefficient, fossil fuel-guzzling boilers,” he continued. “Today, as we mark the 56th anniversary of Earth Day, we are telling our own, very different story of heat. One where we transition thousands of NYCHA apartments from inefficient systems to clean, beautiful heat pumps over the next five years.”
The mayor explained that the initiative will set sustainability goals and introduce electric vehicle charging stations to NYCHA parking lots, and offer NYCHA residents green jobs. “This Earth Day, let us recommit to living in peaceful harmony with nature,” he concluded. “Thank you, and happy Earth Day.”
When Heat debuted in theaters in 1995, it received a warm reception from critics and ultimately grossed $187 million worldwide on a $60 million budget. The almost three-hour-long crime epic featured a stacked cast including Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, and Hank Azaria, among others. Over time, its reputation has grown immensely and is now regarded as one of the best action movies of all-time, and one of the best movies of the ‘90s. On Letterboxd, for instance, it’s currently the 154th best-rated movie on the platform.
