How The Godfather Influenced Breaking Bad Explained By Vince Gilligan
Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan explains how his show was influenced by The Godfather. The crime-drama series aired five seasons from 2008-13 and ended its run as one of the most acclaimed TV shows ever made, and Gilligan's subsequent prequel series, Better Call Saul, has received similarly high praise. The film from director Francis Ford Coppola, which is similarly rated as one of the greatest movies ever made, enjoys its 50th anniversary this year, causing it to be temporarily put back in movie theaters.
The Godfather follows the Corleone family of mafiosi over a period of ten years, as Marlon Brando's patriarch Vito concludes his reign and ends up passing the torch to his son Michael, played by Al Pacino. Michael undergoes a significant transformation throughout the film, going from a reluctant member of his family determined to avoid a life of crime to his father's willing, ruthless successor — an obvious point of similarity with Breaking Bad. The AMC series tracks Bryan Cranston's protagonist, Walter White, as a surprise cancer diagnosis pushes him from life as a mild-mannered, underemployed chemistry teacher to a producer and seller of crystal meth, something that gradually transitions from being motivated by a determination to provide for his family to a darker desire for power at any cost.
Related: Why The Godfather Is Still The King Of Gangster Movies After 50 Years
In an interview with WSJ, Gilligan admits the resemblance is obvious, noting that one couldn't make something like Breaking Bad without having roots traced back to Coppola's mafia epic. However, the similarities don't stop there, and the TV creator notes that he has learned a lot about filmmaking in general from watching The Godfather. More
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