The soundtrack album was released on vinyl album (with a gatefold sleeve), 8-track tape and audio cassette by Arista Records in 1977, with a total running time of 41 minutes (it was later released on compact disc in 1990).

Following the twentieth anniversary re-release of the film in 1998, a new expanded soundtrack was released on compact disc by Arista.

The "Collector's Edition Soundtrack" was made using 20-bit digital remastering from the original tapes, and contained 26 tracks totalling 77 minutes of music.

La-La Land Records reissued the soundtrack on November 28, 2017, in recognition of the film's fortieth anniversary.

The score features some of Williams' most complex and modernistic writing, making use of extended orchestral techniques and atonality.