AllMovie

The historic HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, based on the non-fiction book by Stephen E. Ambrose, and executive produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, begins with "Currahee," named for the Airborne battle cry. The first episode shows the men of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne, as they undergo their grueling paratrooper training. The drama begins in England, on the eve of the D-Day invasion, as two lieutenants, Richard Winters (Damian Lewis) and Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston of Office Space) briefly reminisce about the horrible two years they spent training under Capt. Herbert Sobel (David Schwimmer of Friends), their mean-spirited commanding officer at Camp Toccoa in Georgia. The story then flashes back, showing Sobel ordering his men to run extra miles, repeatedly revoking weekend passes, and generally doing everything he can, it seems, to break their spirit. The troops bond together in their hatred of Sobel and tough it out, becoming the elite company of the regiment. Meanwhile, the straight-laced teetotaler Winters proves to be a resourceful and popular leader. When the troops are shipped to England in preparation for their assault on France, and begin combat exercises in the field, Sobel repeatedly freezes up. He panics and puts his men in harm's way. Things come to a head when, just before the planned invasion of Normandy, Sobel accuses Winters of disobeying a direct order, and the men of Easy Company desperately look for a way to stop Sobel from leading them into battle.