Hannibal Soundtrack: Composers and Songs for Every Film

The best known songs in the Hannibal Lecter films are "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), "Vide Cor Meum" in Hannibal (2001) and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly in Manhunter (1986). Red Dragon (2002) and Hannibal Rising (2007) rely on their scores instead of licensed songs.

Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann, carries the busiest song list of the series. The MCA Records album, simply titled "Manhunter", runs nine tracks and mixes songs with Michel Rubini's score. Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and The Prime Movers' "Strong as I Am" sit alongside three Shriekback tracks: "Coelocanth", "This Big Hush" and "Evaporation". Red 7's "Heartbeat" plays at the end of the film.

The Silence of the Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme, has two songs that people remember, and both sit in the last stretch of the story. "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus plays while Buffalo Bill dances and tucks himself in front of a camera, as Catherine is trapped in the pit in his basement. An excerpt of "Hip Priest" by The Fall plays in the climactic final stretch, when Starling enters Buffalo Bill's house. Neither song appears on the MCA score album, which is built from Howard Shore's cues.

Hannibal (2001), directed by Ridley Scott, is the one film here where a source says the signature piece was written for the picture. "Vide Cor Meum" is performed by Danielle de Niese, with music by Patrick Cassidy. It plays during the opera scene in Florence, where Lecter sits with Detective Pazzi and his wife Allegra while Beatrice sings the Dante setting on stage. The film also uses Johann Sebastian Bach's "Aria da capo (Goldberg Variations)", and the Decca Records album carries a track titled "Aria da capo". Johann Strauss II's "The Blue Danube" is the other classical piece tied to the film.

Red Dragon (2002), directed by Brett Ratner, and Hannibal Rising (2007), directed by Peter Webber, have no songs with a documented scene. Danny Elfman and Shigeru Umebayashi respectively carry those films with score alone.

Our picks: the best songs in the Hannibal Lecter films (opinion)

• "Vide Cor Meum": in my opinion the most beautiful piece in the series, and it gives the Florence opera scene a calm that makes the menace around it sharper.
• "Goodbye Horses": the cheerful tone against a captive in a basement is the most unsettling song choice in the saga.
• "Hip Priest": it gives the final approach to Buffalo Bill's house a rough edge that an orchestral cue would not have.
• "Heartbeat": ending Manhunter on this track suits Mann's cool, glossy style.
• "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida": a 1960s rock staple that sets Manhunter apart from every later Lecter film.
• "Aria da capo (Goldberg Variations)": Bach is the right fit for a Lecter who treats refinement as part of his character.
• "Coelocanth": Shriekback's moody track suits the film's unease better than the more obvious choices would.

If you want to hear the films in the order they came out, start with the Hannibal movies list and move down by release year. To see where you can stream each one, check where to watch Hannibal.