The best movies and shows coming to ABC iview in August

Each month, new films and TV shows are added to ABC iview‘s library. Travis Johnson presents his picks for titles worth watching. For the full list of everything arriving on the platform, scroll down.

ABC Arts Week (August 7 – 13)

A number of fantastic cultural programs are hitting iview for Arts Week, and it’d be a shame to limit ourselves to just one. The six-part Great Southern Landscapes (Aug 9) sees Rachel Griffiths traversing the countryside to investigate how landscape and local history informed the creation of various landmark works of art. A special episode of Art Works, hosted by Namila Benson, drops on the same day.

The Walking Man (Aug 10) tells the story of prolific and largely unknown Perth artist Ross Seaton, who created thousands of artworks over his lifetime for the sheer sake of it. Jeffrey Smart (Aug 10) examines the life and work of one of Australia’s most revered painters. And finally, Anatomy of a String Quartet (Aug 10) explores the creative collaboration between four members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Spicks and Specks (August 7)

Australia’s favourite music game show returns! (suck it, RockWiz!) Join host Adam Hills, team captains Myf Warhurst and Alan Brough, and a stacked roster of guests, including (deep breath) Hamish Blake, Denise Scott, Dave O’Neil, Luke McGregor, Rhys Nicholson, Nath Valvo, Zoe Coombs Marr, Casey Donovan, Montaigne, Emma Watkins, Dylan Alcott, and Mama Alto for ten fresh episodes of Musical Mastermind, as some of Australia’s top talent test their music trivia chops against each other.

Here Out West (August 14)

After wowing audiences at the 2021 Sydney Film Festival, this acclaimed multicultural drama finally hits streaming. Set in the largely immigrant communities of Sydney’s Western suburbs, the anthology film tracks eight different sets of characters on one hectic night, mapping out how these diverse people interact and connect. The film showcases eight different cultural backgrounds, along with dialogue in nine languages, and the result is a dramatic, vibrant work that acts as both a fantastic drama and a portrait of a little-seen part of modern Australia.

More Gold To Stream

Neighbours: End of the Road

With the epochal soap opera having aired its final episode after a whopping 37 years on our screens, there’s no better time to look back on its staggering success (and the odd creative failure). The series was a genuine phenomenon, the tip of the spear when it came to exporting Australian television overseas (especially to the UK), and incubated such talents as Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, and Margot Robbie. Return to Ramsay Street one last time; for better or worse, Australian TV will never be the same again.

Mother and Son

One from the vaults: every single episode of one of Australia’s greatest sitcom is sitting on iview right now. Join acting legends Garry MacDonald and Ruth Cracknell as long-suffering Arthur Beare and his mother, Maggie, respectively, with the former caring for the latter as she slowly slips into dementia. It might sound grim, but this is one of the classics of Australian screen comedy, with razor-sharp writing, brilliant turns from the leads, fantastic support from Henri Szeps and Judy Morris, and a sardonic streak only matched by its warmth and humanity.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

From the vaults to the crypt: Francis Ford Coppola’s star-studded adaptation of the classic vampire tale is now streaming—just in time for its 30th anniversary. Gary Oldman is the immortal bloodthirsty count keen to paint 19th century London red, Anthony Hopkins is his nemesis Van Helsing, and Keanu Reeves and (especially) Winona Ryder are the innocent young English couple caught in the crossfire. Epic, sumptuous, seductive, and bloody, this is one of the finest vampire films ever made.