This is a Mecca of a film. There are major Sets, backdrops, lots of extras and all that adds to a futuristic perspective. Fritz Lang is piggybacking off the earlier developments in German cinema at the time to create this piece. It is a precursor to science fiction, relating the wonders of the day and past into a vision of the future. This is really forward thinking for the time period as futuristic observations were not yet commonplace in the culture. This film lives in the industrializing era that would cross the threshold of the past centuries more similar technological advancements into what would be a truly unknown and unthinkable 20th century world.
This film offers the first taste of the prophetic powers of film to try to glimpse into the future and see what may be in store for mankind as we keep going.