Sonny Chiba is mainstream, but only because of movies like "true romance" and "kill bill." I bought the sonny chiba "street fighter, sister street fighter, return of sf" triple feature completely on accident at best buy for a whopping 5 dollers. Best $5 I've ever spent... turns out theyre the same movies that clarence and alabama whirley watch in the beginning of true romance... I agree that akira kirosawa directs samurai flicks but they are DEFINATELY worth a watch... I tried to find as many of his movies as I could and every single one that I've watched has made me think like a motherfucker... while we're on the subject, does anyone know of a tracker dedicated purely to kung-fu/samurai flicks?