The American Dream. We all live for it. For centuries, people from all over the world have traveled here, some undergoing great hardship to get here, all to live the American Dream. And there may be no better depiction of this struggle than one of the greatest movies of all- The Godfather.

On the surface you might think it’s just another gangster movie, but you’d be missing the point. The story of the Corleone family is the struggle of a family to live the American Dream. Vito Corleone wanted nothing more than to enjoy his piece of the pie. However, when he found himself being denied, he realized he had to fight for it, on his terms. He never wanted the gangster life; he just wanted the best for his wife and family.

Most stories with a moral teach the lesson at the end. With The Godfather, the moral is found in the first lines of the movie, spoken by Amerigo Buonasera. (You gotta love an undertaker whose name loosely means “good night”.) His are the first words of the movie, and they set the stage for the rest of the saga. All he wanted was his slice of the American Dream. And nobody said it better.