"Hanna" Soundtrack Lyrics

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"Hanna (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)" Soundtrack Description

Overview

What if a fairy tale ran on breakbeats? Joe Wright’s Hanna answers with an electronic score by The Chemical Brothers that plays like a music-box gone feral: chiming motifs for innocence, sub-bass and acid squelch for the hunt. The result is a chase thriller that literally sings its danger.

The album—issued digitally by Back Lot Music in March 2011 and on CD later that summer—collects twenty cues (“Hanna’s Theme,” “Escape 700,” “Container Park”) that mirror the film’s sprint across Morocco, Berlin, and snowbound forests. It charted on Billboard’s Top Electronic Albums (#7) and Top Soundtracks (#11). Trusted source: Wikipedia (album & film pages); Apple Music listing.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score?

The Chemical Brothers (Tom Rowlands & Ed Simons) wrote the original score specifically for the film.

Who released the album and when?

Back Lot Music released it digitally on March 15, 2011; a CD followed in July 2011. Regional editions also credit Relativity/Sony Classical.

Is there a central theme or motif?

Yes—“Hanna’s Theme” (including a vocal version featuring Stephanie Dosen) recurs as a lullaby-like idea that turns menacing when harmonized against percussion.

Are there non-Chems songs in the movie?

Yes. The film features licensed pieces like Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” Moroccan/Amazigh and flamenco cues, plus reggae/dancehall snippets.

Does the album include the big action cues?

It does—“Escape 700,” “Car Chase (Arp Worship),” “Container Park,” “Bahnhof Rumble,” and “Hanna vs. Marissa” anchor the set.

Where to verify scene placements?

Cross-check the Hanna page on WhatSong/Tunefind-style indexes and the IMDb Soundtracks list; reviews from Pitchfork and others contextualize the cues.

Notes & Trivia

• “Container Park” was shared as a promotional stream ahead of the album’s release.
• Abbey Road Studios is credited for music score mixing on the film.
• NME later placed the album among their “Greatest Film Soundtracks” list.
• The score’s child-chant/musical-box colors are a deliberate counterpoint to industrial percussion—reviewers flagged this contrast repeatedly.

Genres & Themes

Acid/Big-beat propulsion: distorted synth bass, gated noise, and drummer-tight programming = chase energy (“Escape 700,” “Car Chase (Arp Worship)”).

Music-box minimalism: toy-like bells and simple pentatonic figures sketch Hanna’s naivety (“Hanna’s Theme”).

Industrial suspense: side-chained pads, metallic hits, and ticking percussion mark surveillance and pursuit (“The Devil Is in the Beats”).

Diegetic contrast: folk, flamenco, and Grieg’s “Mountain King” appear in-world, rubbing irony against the electronic score.

Tracks & Scenes

“Escape 700” — The Chemical Brothers
Where it plays: early breakout momentum as Hanna’s plan triggers; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: pounding 2-and-4 kick and siren-like leads frame her competence and set the film’s sprint tempo.

“Bahnhof Rumble” — The Chemical Brothers
Where it plays: ~01:03, Erik descends into an abandoned Berlin station; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: syncopated toms and filtered bass make concrete feel like percussion (WhatSong confirms placement).

“Container Park” — The Chemical Brothers
Where it plays: ~01:10, nighttime pursuit through stacked containers; non-diegetic with percussive “clank” design.
Why it matters: a showcase action cue that interlocks metallic hits with strobing arpeggios.

“Interrogation / Lonesome Subway / Grimm’s House” — The Chemical Brothers
Where it plays: ~01:17, lonely trek past a derelict dinosaur park to the Grimm house; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: the score exhales—drones and distant pulses emphasize dislocation.

“Peer Gynt: In the Hall of the Mountain King” — The Czech Philharmonic (Grieg)
Where it plays: ~01:21, blares inside the Grimm’s house; diegetic/on-screen source.
Why it matters: the famous crescendo weaponizes “storybook” music, flipping comfort into threat.

“Car Chase (Arp Worship)” — The Chemical Brothers
Where it plays: ~01:24, intercut with Erik’s high-speed escape; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: beefy sequencer line = head-nod propulsion; reviewers often single this out.

“Hanna vs. Marissa” — The Chemical Brothers
Where it plays: ~01:34, final foot chase through the forest/amusement park; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: theme fragments return over pounding drums—innocence collides with predation.

“The Sandman” — The Chemical Brothers
Where it plays: 00:55–01:00 set-pieces with Isaac’s crew; non-diegetic.
Why it matters: distorted lullaby fragments hint at bedtime stories turned lethal.

World/club needles (in-film, not on OST album):
“Divagando” — Pedro Ricardo Miño (flamenco scene texture);
“Tiddi Netat Ayahe” — Houcine Ellaousy (Moroccan ambience);
“Give It to Me” — Courtney John & Ce’Cile (reggae/dancehall diegetic);
“Certified Murderer” — Kiprich/Barrington Levy compendium (brief needle).
Why they matter: location color that contrasts the score’s engineered pulse.

Timestamps vary slightly by cut; scene descriptions are cross-checked against soundtrack indexes.

Music–Story Links

Hanna’s “lullaby” becomes a weapon. Each time “Hanna’s Theme” returns, arrangement choices—filter grit, heavier drums—tell us she’s less sheltered. Conversely, the folk/Grieg cues surface inside spaces controlled by others, turning comfort into menace. It’s a fairy-tale grammar: nursery sounds for the hero, carnival-dark pastiche for the witch.

The chase writing (“Escape 700,” “Car Chase,” “Container Park”) doesn’t just energize; it modularizes the puzzle. Motifs clip on like gears as the story shifts countries and allies. Reviewers noted the balance: big-room adrenaline versus smaller “atmosphere” bridges that let the plot breathe. Trusted sources: Pitchfork review; WhatSong placements.

How It Was Made

The Chemical Brothers scored to picture in their East Sussex studio (Rowlands Audio Research), with mixing work credited at Abbey Road. The album first arrived digitally via Back Lot Music (March 2011) before physical editions landed across labels tied to distribution (Relativity, Sony Classical). Track rollouts included a free “Container Park” stream during the campaign. Trusted sources: Apple/Spotify listings; label/press notes; Wikipedia.

Reception & Quotes

Critical reaction skewed positive on the action material, mixed on the connective ambience.

“Hard-charging thrills… car-chase songs stand out; interstitial atmospheres less so.” Pitchfork

“Quality electronica throughout—pretty, ominous, sometimes just plain fun.” Consequence review

“An incessant set of dance tunes… dramatically incoherent as film music.” Movie Music UK

Commercially, it reached #7 on Top Electronic Albums and #11 on Top Soundtracks in the U.S. (trade chart data aggregated on Wikipedia/AllMusic).

Additional Info

• Digital release: March 15, 2011 (Back Lot Music); CD followed in early July 2011.
• Twenty tracks on the standard program; highlights widely available on streaming services.
• “Hanna’s Theme (Vocal Version)” features Stephanie Dosen.
• Some in-film licensed pieces (world/folk/classical) are not on the OST album.
• Grieg’s “Mountain King” is used diegetically in the Grimm house set-piece.

Technical Info

• Title: Hanna (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
• Year: 2011
• Type: Original score with select in-film licensed pieces (in movie only)
• Composer/Producer: The Chemical Brothers (Tom Rowlands & Ed Simons)
• Labels: Back Lot Music (digital), Relativity / Sony Classical (physical territories)
• Key cues: “Hanna’s Theme,” “Escape 700,” “Bahnhof Rumble,” “Car Chase (Arp Worship),” “Container Park,” “Hanna vs. Marissa,” “The Devil Is in the Beats.”
• Chart notes (U.S.): Top Electronic Albums #7; Top Soundtracks #11.
• Availability: Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music (full album).

Canonical Entities & Relations

Subject	Relation	Object
The Chemical Brothers (Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons)	composed	Hanna (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Joe Wright	directed	Hanna (2011 film)
Back Lot Music	released	Digital album (March 2011)
Relativity / Sony Classical	issued	Physical album editions (2011)
Stephanie Dosen	featured vocal on	“Hanna’s Theme (Vocal Version)”
Czech Philharmonic	performed	Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” (diegetic, in-film)
Abbey Road Studios	mixed	music score (credited on film company/music credits)

Sources: Wikipedia (film & soundtrack); Apple Music; Spotify; Pitchfork; Consequence; Movie Music UK; WhatSong; AllMusic.

Every single moment is perfectly interspersed with fabulous music made by The Chemical Brothers. Even in the kids’ counting song, similar to one of best tracks to recent The Angry Birds Movie of 2016 (Matoma – Wonderful Life is similar somewhat to Hanna's Theme), loneliness is heard. Just a few pieces from the soundtrack differ from the total kingdom of already mentioned The Chemical Brothers – they are The Chemical Brothers & Beastie Boys, still having bros among the authors. There are also Hanna’s voiced lyrics with no music – just a piece cut out of the film, underlining the surprising monumentality of the moment. Though this film hadn’t collected too much money (USD 60 M vs. USD 30 M of the expenditures), the work of The Chemical Brothers is mesmerizing in many ways. For example, they showed the strength of the separate sound in Isolated Howl and stretched stringed-and-percussive sounds in Marissa Flashback, tearing the eardrums. Exhaustive, isolated, solitary – just like the girl living in the woods with her father – that’s what most of their melodies are. You won’t find in the collection anything similar to Hey Boy Hey Girl by Chem Bros, which made them popular on the discos in 2007-2008. What they did for this film is beyond ordinary music. Above that – the entire album is lyrics-deprived, as every song is instrumental, except of Hanna’s speech (Vocals feat. Stephanie Dosen). The acting of Eric Bana is below the expected in this, as he really could do better. The Cate Blanchett’s act is pretty average also. The real star here is this little girl, depicted by Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, who kills tons of bad guys, trying to get Mrs. Blanchett’s hero (which she eventually does). Now she is 22 and not at any cause makes resemblance to her little she.

November, 10th 2025

Read more about 'Hanna', a 2011 action adventure thriller film on Wikipedia and Internet Movie Database

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