t the end of the day its the story that makes a film good or bad. All special effects cannot make a stupid story look good. A good example are the Hitchcock movies. He was a master of using the things you DONT see to create a thrill, instead of showing lots of action. Or the Agatha Christie movies, which are basically 90 minutes of people just talking - and yet they are catching, because the stories are good. And the actors too, of course.
Most impressive I find films that are still looking fresh, yet been made in the 50s or earlier. There are some, which always stay interesting even if they are obviously old. Thats the real art of film, I guess.