Very similar theme as in Breaking Bad.
You are not alone in making the connection.
There is a definite influence:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/breaking-bad-inspiration-movies

Is it half as good as the two aforementioned? Because the two aforementioned are of course amazing and I am lookin' for something in the words of Tuco Salamanca, "TIGHT, TIGHT TIGHT!" to watch tonight. I am aware that the sheer lack of activity on an old movie's message board means I won't get a reply in time, but I ask nevertheless in case there comes another night when this flick is competing with the thousand other films on my watch list.
I must be a castaway on the desert island of my dreams

Haha, I watched this with a friend last night. We spent the first half saying it was like Breaking Bad, and the second half saying it was like The Shining.
Reality is the new fiction they say, truth is truer these days, truth is man-made

I thought exactly the same! Having seen the entire Breaking Bad series recently I found myself wondering the same after rewatching Bigger Than Life today. Strange coincidence or conscious inspiration for the authors?