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The adjective Lynchian (also Lynchean, David-Lynchian and David-Lynchean) means: characteristic, reminiscent or imitative of the films or television work of the U.S. filmmaker David Lynch (1946-2025).
This adjective is composed of the name (David) Lynch and of the suffix ‑ian (also -ean), meaning: of, or relating to, that which is denoted by the first element.
David Lynch was noted for juxtaposing surreal or sinister elements with mundane, everyday environments, and for using compelling visual images to emphasise a dreamlike quality of mystery or menace.
The adjective David-Lynchean occurred, for example, in a preview of two works by the U.S. dancer and choreographer Paul Taylor (1930-2018), performed by the Miami City Ballet—review by Kristy Montee, published in the Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA) of Sunday 2nd September 1990 [page 4-F, column 1]:
For audiences and dancers alike, the “primer” will provide a quickie Cook’s tour through Paul Taylor’s curious world, where nothing is as it seems.
It’s a fecund, David Lynchean world of splendid eccentricity, where beauty and evil are equally acknowledged, where the sublime and the sordid are explored with the same intensity.
These are, in chronological order, the earliest occurrences of the adjective Lynchian (also Lynchean, David-Lynchian and David-Lynchean) that I have found:
1-: From Movie Guide, by Michael Auerbach, published in L.A. Weekly (Los Angeles, California, USA) of Friday 10th September 1982 [page 57, column 2]:
VISTA, 4473 Sunset Dr., E. Hollywood.
[…]
Thurs., Sept. 16: The Elephant Man (David Lynch, USA, 1980). This biography of the famous John Merrick, deformed by neurofibromatosis, is one-quarter Hollywood biopic and three-quarters Lynchian mysticism. Plus Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau, France, 1946). Beautiful, benign version of the fable.
2 & 3-: From reviews of Dune (1984), a U.S. film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on the 1965 novel of the same name by the U.S. science-fiction author Frank Herbert (1920-1986):
2-: From a review by Patrice Smith, published in The Evansville Courier (Evansville, Indiana, USA) of Tuesday 18th December 1984 [page 21, column 1]:
That Lynch even attempted to translate Herbert’s cosmic novel into workable film language is a credit to the imaginative Midwestern director who made “The Elephant Man” and the cult favorite, “Eraserhead.” However, with the exception of a few scenes and weird glimpses of meaning, the Dino and Raffaella De Laurentiis production shows little evidence of Lynch’s talents.
Distinctly Lynchian ideas are buried deeply in this film, and they’re often overshadowed by the mere weight of action scenes and description which blow across the movie’s landscape at stormy speed. His preoccupation with bodily functions is shown in gruesome detail, with the boil-laden face of Baron Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan) and the deformed, larval shape of a Guild Navigator.
3-: From a review by Dan Craft, published in The Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, Illinois, USA) of Saturday 22nd December 1984 [Weekend Magazine: page 19, column 1]:
Lynch’s afore-mentioned single-minded vision produces passages of truly epic grandeur, punctuated with such Lynchian trademarks as dream sequences, disturbing imagery and rampant symbolism.
4-: From USF schedules fine film series for spring term, by Greg Tozian, published in The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida, USA) of Friday 11th January 1985 [page 1-D, column 1]:
The University of South Florida—the sole second banana to the Tampa Theatre’s lead role as “alternative” local movie house—is bringing in an above-average slate of films for the spring semester.
[…]
Next weekend, on Jan. 18 and 19, there is a David (“Dune”) Lynch mini-festival up for grabs (or gags, as the case may be). Lynch’s weirdly wonderful, cult oddity, “Eraserhead,” will be shown along with his too-little-seen early shorts, “The Alphabet” and “The Grandmother.”
[…]
[…] The opportunity to see a trio of Lynchian works back-to-back is an uncommon, and worthwhile, opportunity.
5-: From a review of Blue Velvet (1986), a U.S. film written and directed by David Lynch—review by Jeff Simon, published in The Buffalo News (Buffalo, New York, USA) of Sunday 21st September 1986 [page E-4, column 2]:
“The Hardy Boys in Hell,” Lynch jauntily calls this film. It’s about the small city of Lumberton, which has the dark, eerie corridors of Lynch’s “Eraserhead.” Behind the doors is a world of well-honed sexual compulsion and kinkiness, small-city psychodrama somewhere midway between Sodom and Bedlam.
It all starts one day when our hero, the Lynchian nerd (Kyle MacLachlan) finds a human ear in a vacant lot.
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