Before I wade into my annual survey of every song eligible for an Academy Award, I’d like to say one thing to all members of the AMPAS Music Branch who actually watched all 75 songs on the DVD that the branch sent to voters:
I’m impressed by your devotion to duty, because that is one tough job.
Granted, watching the three-hour-and-14-minute DVD that contains clips of all eligible songs only takes about 15 minutes more than sitting through “The Wolf of Wall Street” or “Blue Is the Warmest Color.”
But watching 75 back-to-back clips of the scenes in which the songs are used feels longer and tougher – because the while the Academy’s song screener shows you up to three minutes of each movie, it disconnects you from how the song fits within the overall context of the film.