The Wicker Man (soundtrack) tunes such as "Miri it is" the oldest surviving middle English song fragment, the "Struan Robertson's Rant" strathspey (plays while Sgt. Howie searches the ship for Rowan), the "Tenpenny Bit" jig (Plays while Lord Summerisle and MacGregor prepare for the festivities), and "Drowsy Maggie" reel (plays while Sgt. Howie searches a house for Rowan). "Chop Chop" is based on the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons". "Procession" is an arrangement of the tune of the Child Ballad "Fause Foodrage". Although some of the music is Scottish, and the film is set in the Hebrides, no traditional Scottish Gaelic numbers are featured.
The Wicker Man cinema distributors on 3 December 1973. The first public theatrical release was a week of test screenings at the Metropole Cinema London on the 6 December 1973 ahead of the official public release in January 1974. It runs 87 minutes. A copy of a finished, 99-minute version was sent to American film producer Roger Corman in Hollywood to make a judgment of how to market the film in the US. Corman recommended an additional 13 minutes be cut from the film. (Corman did not acquire US release rights, and eventually Warner Bros. test-marketed the film in drive-ins.) In Britain, the